Brexit: Sunak urges Tories not to create ‘another Westminster drama’ over Northern Ireland deal – as it happened

• Rishi Sunak told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) the “time and space” to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it was the best offer they would get. The prime minister said he was “confident” the DUP would back it as he urged colleagues not to create another “Westminster drama” after his new Windsor agreement for Northern Ireland was broadly welcomed. But Conservatives were waiting with “bated breath” to see if the DUP would back the deal which is hoped will restore power sharing to Stormont after a year-long absence, according to Steve Baker MP. Sunak, who addressed Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee in the Commons after a visit to Northern Ireland, was understood to have told colleagues he had “spent a lot of time” with the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, as he seeks to break the deadlock in the region.

• Downing Street has set out its apparent intent to push ahead with a new trading regime for Northern Ireland whether or not the Democratic Unionist party backs the plan – although a leading Conservative Brexiter predicted they ultimately would.

• Peter Robinson, the former DUP leader and former first minister of Northern Ireland, has urged his party colleagues to take their time deciding whether or not to support the PM’s protocol deal. Rishi Sunak has told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) the “time and space” to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it is the best offer they will get.

• As Suzanne Breen reports in the Belfast Telegraph, Robinson provided his advice in a post on Facebook in which he did not declare himself to be for or against the deal.

• The SNP has said Rishi Sunak’s comments today about Northern Ireland getting the advantage of unfettered access to the UK market and the EU single market (see 9.07am and 11.11am) shows that Scotland is losing out. In a response, Alyn Smith MP, the SNP’s Europe and EU accession spokesperson, said: “Rishi Sunak is moonlighting as a remainer as he perfectly outlines how Scotland will be at a competitive disadvantage under Westminster control and outside the European Union.”

• At an Onward event to debate the future of the Conservative party in central London, Michael Gove suggested that parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly could have their child benefit payments stopped. The levelling up secretary suggested the idea, which was originally considered by the coalition government under David Cameron but blocked by the Liberal Democrats, could now be reconsidered to help restore “an ethic of responsibility”.

• James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, has rejected claims the king was drawn into political matters when meeting the European Commission president after a new Brexit deal was agreed.

• At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said Rishi Sunak’s comments this morning about Northern Ireland benefiting from being in the EU single market (see 9.07am and 11.11am) did not mean he thought the whole of the UK should be in it.

That’s all from us today. Thank you again for following along – here’s our end-of-day story:

An MP received “faeces through their letterbox” after a political row over the Conservatives’ response to sewage discharges, parliament has heard.

Tory Simon Jupp hit out at the Liberal Democrats for “accusing Conservative MPs of voting to pollute our waters and seas”, which he said was “ridiculous” and had led to “colleagues facing threats and abuse in the street”.

He described how an MP “recently received faeces through their letterbox as a result of this politics”.

Lib Dem environment spokesperson Tim Farron told PA: “This kind of behaviour is completely abhorrent and no MP or staff should have to put up with it. I feel for Simon and his staff as I too have been on the receiving end of abusive behaviour.

“However, it is not right to blame people who are holding the government to account for their actions.

“Millions of people across the country have voiced their dismay at sewage being dumped into rivers and coastlines, and the Liberal Democrats have been championing their cause.

“The basic fact is that Conservative MPs have voted to allow water companies to discharge sewage into rivers. Community groups, swimmers and political parties have held Conservative MPs to account in a sensible and grown-up manner. This is the way public debate should be conducted.”

Rishi Sunak’s meeting with the 1922 Committee was the first time there were no hostile questions in 18 years, according to MP Daniel Kawczynski.

Kawczynski, a Brexiter, told Sky News: “I think all Conservative MPs who stood up to ask questions recognised the extraordinary [measures] that the prime minister has implemented over the last few months in trying to secure this agreement and he seems to have pulled off something which had been impossible for Boris Johnson and impossible for Theresa May.”

Steve Baker MP said everybody realised the deal was “as good as we’re going to get” and the prime minister “won’t be losing any votes on this”.

Rishi Sunak has told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) the “time and space” to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it is the best offer they will get.

The prime minister said he was “confident” the DUP would back it as he urged colleagues not to create another “Westminster drama” after his new Windsor agreement for Northern Ireland was broadly welcomed.

But Conservatives were waiting with “bated breath” to see if the DUP would back the deal which is hoped will restore power sharing to Stormont after a year-long absence.

Sunak, who addressed Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee in the Commons on Tuesday evening after a visit to Northern Ireland, was understood to have told colleagues he had “spent a lot of time” with the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, as he seeks to break the deadlock in the region.

“And I would just say one thing to you all: we should give him and the DUP time and space,” Sunak said as he acknowledged a “spectrum of views” within the unionist party.

“So let’s not pressure them for an instant answer,” the PM added.

“Let’s also remember that the last thing the public want is another Westminster drama.”

The SNP has been criticised over the decision to exclude journalists from leadership hustings in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and Scottish first minister.

Labour and the Conservatives condemned the decision to bar media from a series of hustings where the three candidates will debate their views in front of party members.

A spokesperson for the SNP’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) said the events had been designed as a “safe space” where party members can question the candidates.

However, Kate Forbes, the Scottish finance secretary who is running to replace Sturgeon, said it would be “positive” for the hustings events to be broadcast live online as she called for the press to be allowed access.

The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, claimed the party was “once again hiding from proper scrutiny”, tweeting: “The public deserve to hear the priorities of candidates standing to be the next first minister of Scotland.”

With the the first hustings event due in Cumbernauld on Wednesday, the Tories said the SNP should “urgently” reconsider.

Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary, has written to the SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell – who is married to Sturgeon – also telling him: “It is completely unacceptable that such an important contest can be conducted in secrecy.”

From the Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti. Lord Frost resigned as Brexit minister in December 2021.

28 Feb 202313.15 EST

Andrew Sparrow

According to the Sun’s Harry Cole, at his meeting with the 1922 Committee Rishi Sunak ridiculed a poll finding suggesting that people think Labour would implement Brexit better than the Conservatives.

If Sunak was suggesting that this finding means the polls are implausible, then he may have been drawing the wrong conclusion. Polls do show that voters trust Labour (a party that opposed Brexit) more to get Brexit done than the Conservatives. Polls also show that voters think Labour would do a better job of passing a law to stop small boats (which Labour is not even proposing) than the Conservative party (which is proposing this).

What these polls really show is that, almost regardless of what the policy is, people don’t trust the Tories to deliver.

Or, to paraphrase Sunak, when chickens think even the fox will do a better job of looking after the hen house, then the farmer really has screwed up.

On that note, I’m off, and handing over to my colleague

Rishi Sunak has finished his meeting with the 1922 Committee. As my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports, afterwards Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, said Tory MPs were supporting the PM with a sense of relief.

Rishi Sunak has highlighted the Stormont brake as one of the features ofr his protocol deal that should make it most attractive to unionists.

But the legal commentator David Allen Green is more sceptical. In a post on his blog, he says the conditions attached to the brake mean that it is very unlikely to ever be used. He says:

The small-print of the documents published yesterday show that the conditions and process for the brake are such that, in practice, it will be difficult-to-impossible to apply.

Peter Robinson, the former DUP leader and former first minister of Northern Ireland, has urged his party colleagues to take their time deciding whether or not to support the PM’s protocol deal.

As Suzanne Breen reports in the Belfast Telegraph, Robinson provided his advice in a post on Facebook in which he did not declare himself to be for or against the deal.

On timing, Robinson said:

While there will be endless pressure to come to an early decision, the party should resist timetabling its response.

Meetings with government, seeking assurances and guarantees, requiring clarification, and having discussions with stakeholders are not a waste of time, they are an indispensable component when seeking to reach a wise, prudent, and defendable outcome.

He also said the party needed to consider whether a better deal might be available in the future, or whether rejecting the deal could put unionism on “perilous ground”. He said:

Do not make perfection the enemy of a good deal nor should the fear of isolation induce colleagues to accept a bad one.

In common with any of the many previous agreements reached, and those that were not completed, serious thought must be given as to whether a better deal could be attained in the future if we do not react positively to this one.

However, it is important to also consider whether in rejecting the framework (whether improved by clarifications, or not) we place unionism and Northern Ireland on more perilous ground.

Rishi Sunak is addressing the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee in private. As ITV’s Anushka Asthana and the Sun on Sunday’s Kate Ferguson report, he got a warm reception.

The SNP has said Rishi Sunak’s comments today about Northern Ireland getting the advantage of unfettered access to the UK market and the EU single market (see 9.07am and 11.11am) shows that Scotland is losing out. In a response, Alyn Smith MP, the SNP’s Europe and EU accession spokesperson, said:

Rishi Sunak is moonlighting as a remainer as he perfectly outlines how Scotland will be at a competitive disadvantage under Westminster control and outside the European Union.

Northern Ireland voted to stay within the European Union and it is getting its wishes. However, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to reject Brexit but we are living with the economic consequences every single day.

Throughout the Brexit process the SNP Scottish government made sensible suggestions so Scotland’s choice could be respected by remaining inside the single market and customs union. Those proposals were thrown in the bin and Scotland was taken along for the ride as we were dragged out of Europe against our will.

28 Feb 202311.11 EST

Gove suggests government should consider removing child benefit from parents if children regularly miss school

Pippa Crerar

At an Onward event to debate the future of the Conservative party in central London, Michael Gove suggested that parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly could have their child benefit payments stopped.

The levelling up secretary suggested the idea, which was originally considered by the coalition government under David Cameron but blocked by the Liberal Democrats, could now be reconsidered to help restore “an ethic of responsibility”.

He told the audience:

We need to, particularly after Covid, get back to an absolute rigorous focus on school attendance, on supporting children to be in school. It is often the case that it is truanting or persistent absenteeism that leads to involvement in antisocial behaviour.

So one of the ideas that we floated in the coalition years, which the Liberal Democrats rejected, is the idea that if children are persistently absent then child benefit should be stopped. I think what we do need to do is to think radically about restoring an ethic of responsibility.

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Apart from what he had to say about the single market (see 10.27am and 11.11am), what was most interesting about what Rishi Sunak said at his Q&A this morning was probably what he said about learning about Northern Ireland.

Most English politicians know very little about Northern Ireland, and Sunak never had much experience of the place as a minister before becoming PM. But he told his audience that having a roommate who was from Omagh when he was at university had a big influence. He said:

I went to university in 1998, so the time of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, that’s when I became an adult, my room-mate at university was from Omagh, and I came from Southampton, I didn’t know anyone very well from Northern Ireland, he, as it turned out, didn’t really know any Indian people, so we spent a lot of time getting to know each other and learning about each other’s backgrounds.

It was eye-opening to me how he had grown up, what he had grown up having to deal with, and live with. I’m passionately committed to making sure that the Good Friday agreement works because it brought peace and stability to Northern Ireland, and that is so precious, and we are reminded of how precious just in the past week.

Sunak also claimed that half his office staff at No 10 were from Northern Ireland.

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Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Tory Eurosceptic and European Research Group members, was one of the Conservative MPs who sounded most sceptical of Rishi Sunak’s protocol deal during the Commons statement last night. Cash said he wanted the government to clarify a range of points, covering “the making of EU laws and the European court, the joint committee and its procedures, and the Stormont brake, not to mention the whole context of sovereignty in this entire process under section 38 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020”.

Theresa May, the former PM, offered a demonstration in the Commons earlier to show how enthusiastic his colleagues are to hear Cash’s interventions. She was responding when the mentioned the Maastricht treaty during the tributes to Betty Boothroyd. James Heale from the Spectator has the clip.

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, has rejected claims the king was drawn into political matters when meeting the European Commission president after a new Brexit deal was agreed, my colleague Aletha Adu reports.