Rishi Sunak to seal new Brexit deal TODAY to fix Northern Ireland border but Tory and DUP row looms
RISHI Sunak will seal a breakthrough Brexit deal with Brussels today as EU boss Ursula von der Leyen heads to Britain.
The PM and European Commission chief are poised to sign the agreement after hundreds of hours of talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The visit will fire the starting gun on the biggest gamble of the PM's career as he seeks to sell the deal to hardline Brexiteers in the Democratic Unionist Party and his own sceptical Tory backbenchers.
The Sun can reveal the talks which led to today's pact were secretly started under Liz Truss when she became PM — and were inherited by Mr Sunak’s team.
Both sides have been striving to secure a new arrangement before the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement in April to smooth trade problems over the border and get the government in Stormont back up and running.
The PM and EU chief are due to meet outside London at lunchtime to shake on the deal — which is said to slash red tape and make it easier to do business.
Subject to a formal nod from both sides, ministers are expected to then approve the agreement at a special Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.
The PM and EU boss will later hold a joint press conference, before Mr Sunak returns to London to reveal details to the Commons.
No10 said last night Mr Sunak would make sure any deal “fixes problems on the ground, ensures trade flows freely within the whole of the UK, safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in our Union and returns sovereignty to the people of Northern Ireland”.
After weeks of positive mood music from both sides, a joint statement from the European Commission head and PM said: “Today, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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“President von der Leyen will therefore meet with the Prime Minister in the UK tomorrow.”
Q&A: SO WHY DID IT ALL DRAG ON?
Q) What is the Northern Ireland protocol?
A) It is a deal with the EU to avoid a hard border on the Irish mainland.
The EU insists goods which could enter its single market in the Republic of Ireland comply with its rules.
The protocol allowed some checks to take place on goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Q) What's the problem?
A) The protocol created a border in the Irish Sea, splitting off NI from the rest of the UK.
Sometimes the checks are so onerous businesses on the mainland refuse to sell goods in NI, leading to shortages.
Q) How is PM Rishi Sunak proposing to fix this?
A) The EU will agree to a new system of red and green lanes. Goods from GB destined for NI only would be subject to minimal checks.
There will also be a Stormont lock to give elected politicians in NI a say over which EU rules they follow.
Q) Will this end the row?
A) Unlikely. Anything requiring NI to still follow EU rules on product standards will be unacceptable to many.
However, the location for the momentous summit could spark yet another political row after reports the EU chief could be invited to meet King Charles at Windsor while she is in the UK.
Angry MPs insisted the monarch should not be dragged into the political row over the Northern Ireland agreement after suggestions it could be dubbed the “Windsor agreement”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said it would be “on the borderline of constitutional propriety” to use the King to sell the deal.
Last night MPs were braced for the small print, but the PM looked likely to push ahead with the new deal, with or without the backing of the DUP — and possibly several of his own backbenchers.
Last week, Boris Johnson refused repeatedly to say if he would vote for Mr Sunak’s agreement.
And DUP MP Sammy Wilson said yesterday: “The one thing which is the red line for us… Northern Ireland will be, and as far as we understand it, will continue to be under laws made in Brussels.”
Hardline Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois insisted he wanted to see EU law expunged from Northern Ireland — and warned the PM not to try to bludgeon it through the Commons without a vote.
He told Sky: “If the DUP don’t consent to the deal then it is simply not going to fly and that’s been absolutely obvious right from the word go. These people won’t be bullied by anybody.”
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Tonight, Downing Street was not expecting any immediate resignations but refused to say whether MPs would have a full vote on the new agreement.
Brexit hardman-turned-Northern-Ireland-minister Steve Baker gave the cameras a thumbs-up and a smile as he left Downing Street this afternoon.
Boost for trade with new rules
By Natasha Clark
TRADING between Britain and Northern Ireland should be far easier for businesses under the new rules.
The original deal, designed to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, sometimes led to lengthy and costly checks.
These are expected to be reduced, with green lanes for trusted traders taking goods from Britain into Northern Ireland.
Tracking devices will help make sure trucks are going where they should.
Powers for government to change VAT in Northern Ireland look set to be returned to the UK.
It is also expected the role of the European Court of Justice will be cut back.
New EU laws are expected to be subject to a vote by Northern Irish politicians.