Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab arrives in Downing Street, London, September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit minister Dominic Raab said Northern Ireland was a substantial issue in negotiations with the EU, but it had been overblown for political purposes, and he favored a technical solution to the border with the Republic of Ireland.

Any specific regulatory solutions for Northern Ireland would need to be respectful of existing devolution settlement and would have to carry the consent of the community in the province, Raab said at an event at the Conservative Party annual conference on Tuesday.