Donaldson seeks to become new leader of Northern Ireland's DUP

FILE PHOTO: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP arrives before new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Edwin Poots, news conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

BELFAST (Reuters) - Jeffrey Donaldson sought on Monday to become the third leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in a matter of weeks, pledging to pressure the British government to ditch post-Brexit trade rules for the province agreed with the EU.

These rules effectively treat British-run Northern Ireland as part of the European Union for customs purposes under a protocol designed to avoid politically sensitive border checks with EU member Ireland.