Brexit responsible for food supply problems in Northern Ireland, Ireland says

LONDON (Reuters) - Food supply problems in Northern Ireland are due to Brexit because there are now a certain amount of checks on goods going between Britain and Northern Ireland, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.

British ministers have sought to play down the disruption of Brexit in recent days.

"The supermarket shelves were full before Christmas and there are some issues now in terms of supply chains and so that's clearly a Brexit issue," Coveney told ITV.

The Northern Irish protocol means there are "a certain amount of checks on goods coming from GB into Northern Ireland and that involves some disruption," he said.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Tom Hogue)