Marks and Spencer customers in Northern Ireland may not be able to use the pre-Christmas food ordering service.
The chairman of the company says customers here will face a substantial reduction in food supply from the UK and an increase in prices due to the NI protocol.
Archie Norman said supply chain issues coming into Northern Ireland are “about get worse” when the NI Protocol is fully implemented after the current grace period ends on September 30.
In the article in the Mail On Sunday, he said: “The result would be substantial reduction in food supply from the UK to Northern Ireland and an increase in prices for its citizens. Already, M&S has had to cancel sales of our Christmas Food to Order, our top-end range service, into Northern Ireland because we just don’t know if we can get it there.”
Major retailers including Tesco and Iceland have warned of the disruption to supermarket supplies as the industry grapples with a shortage of lorry drivers following the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and post-Brexit rules.
Meanwhile Marks & Spencer will keep all its UK and Ireland stores closed on Boxing Day this year.
This will mark the second consecutive year that M&S has shut its stores on Boxing Day,