Fortnum & Mason chief urges Sunak to agree Northern Ireland trade deal with EU

Fortnum & Mason’s chief executive has urged a deal between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol. Tom Athron, chief executive of Fortnum & Mason, has urged Rishi Sunak's government to seal a deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, saying that without the agreement it is "almost impossible" for food retailers to export to the EU. Speaking to the Financial Times in Hong Kong during a scoping tour for the department store's Asian expansion, Mr Athron said the deal, expected as soon as this week, was needed for UK-EU relations to progress. "Once…