Ireland will not block Britain from opening trade talks with the EU if it cannot resolve an ongoing row over the future status of the Northern Ireland border, EU officials said.

The apparent limits of an Irish gambit to hold up Brexit talks until Britain provides more substantial “assurances” over the border emerged a week after the Telegraph revealed how renewed Irish demands on the border question had thrown talks progress into fresh doubt.

“There’s a risk of separation talks not making sufficient progress on Ireland, not a risk of Ireland blocking on its own the advancement of Brexit talks,” a senior EU official told reporters in Brussels.

The apparent reluctance of the other 26 European Union to allow the Irish to veto progress on the stalled Brexit talks will be a boost for UK Brexit negotiators and Boris Johnson who will make his first visit to Dublin as foreign secretary on Friday.

Irish demands for an “all-island” solution to Brexit blindsided UK negotiators at talks in Brussels last week and have strained relations between Dublin and London. Despite the differences over Brexit Mr Johnson said in a statement he was "determined to stay on the path that leads to an even closer friendship in the decades ahead.”