In a remarkable step, a British minister apologizes to the European Union and Northern Ireland

In a remarkable move that was covered by various British media, Conservative British Minister Steve Packer apologized to the European Union and Northern Ireland.

Packer was quoted by The Independent as saying that he apologized for not having "behaved appropriately" earlier and for doing something that did not build trust with partners.

In his apology, the minister in charge of Northern Ireland's office in the Trass government said that by apologizing, he wanted to show some "humility" about the way he and other Brexit supporters had acted during the Brexit negotiations.

The newspaper reported that Packer also apologized to the Republic of Northern Ireland and made clear that current relations with its government "are where they should be".

He revealed that he spoke to ministers from Northern Ireland during Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, and expressed his apologies for not always respecting their "legitimate interests".

Packer, a prominent advocate of Britain's exit from the European Union, said he now knows that he and others did not behave as they should with the European Union and Northern Ireland, when they did not accept that others had legitimate interests to defend.

Packer made it clear that he is happy for the "thaw" over the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, after Foreign Secretary James Cleverly embarked on new talks with European Union negotiator Maros Sefcovic to resolve it, stressing - in return - that no one should underestimate the determination of the Terrace government to Defending the interests of the state.

"It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland is now completely separate from Britain under protocol, so we are determined to bring about change," he told the Conservative Party conference.

Britain had accepted, during the Brexit negotiations, the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, which keeps it within the single market of the European Union with the establishment of customs borders with the rest of the territory of the United Kingdom. After that, London considered the implementation of some provisions of that protocol impossible, and called for its amendment.

British officials had hinted at the possibility of a unilateral freeze of the protocol in the event that a new agreement was not reached, which means aggravating the relationship with the European Union and freezing the free trade agreement between them.