NI Brexit deal: DUP chief whip says party should have a say on Windsor Framework

The King has welcomed Ursula von der Leyen to Windsor Castle after she agreed a new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland with Rishi Sunak.

Charles was pictured warmly shaking hands with the European Commission president at the royal residence after she held a joint press conference with Sunak to outline the political development.

Speaking at a press conference announcing the newly-confirmed Northern Ireland Protocol, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the agreement marks a “new chapter” in the UK’s relationship with the EU.

He said tree steps forward have been taken with this deal - ensuring a “smooth flow of trade within the UK”, “removing any sense of a border in the Irish Sea”, and preserving and “safeguarding” the “delicate balance” in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Meanwhile, Ursula Von der Leyen was positive about the UK Prime Minister - commenting that he had a “very constructive attitude” towards finding solutions. She also said the pair can “take pride in the fact we have delivered” on commitments made during the initial Brexit negotiations.

The new Windsor Framework was announced by Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen today, with the Prime Minister claiming that the agreement “removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea”. But what's in it?

The Prime Minister set out a wider array of planned changes and reforms, covering trade, VAT regulation and the role of Stormont in EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland.

At the core of the deal is the creation of a new system for the flow of goods.

Anything destined for Northern Ireland will travel there as part of a “green lane”, with significantly fewer checks. Anything that could cross the border and enter the EU’s single market will travel through a separate red lane.

Sunak said that the changes to the protocol will scale back the number of certificates required for traders moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, with customs paperwork removed too for people sending parcels or buying goods online.

He indicated changes to the movement of food too, claiming that anything made to UK rules will now be clear to be “sent to and sold” in NI. That will include sausages, one of the foodstuffs hit by protocol changes and which grabbed the attention of politicians in Belfast and Westminster alike.

“If food is available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain, then it will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland,” he said.

As part of the deal, the legal text of the protocol has also been amended on VAT. Under current arrangements, EU VAT and excise rules for goods generally apply in Northern Ireland.

Sunak said that would now change, with the legal text of the protocol amended to allow the UK government to “make critical VAT and excise changes for the whole of the UK”.

Alcohol duty, for instance, was mentioned – with Sunak suggesting that the cost of a pint in the pub could be cut for Northern Irish drinkers.

Rishi Sunak has addressed MPs in the House of Commons after ealier today unveiling the Windsor Framework.

The PM told the chamber: “We’ve achieved free-flowing trade with a green lane for goods, no burdensome customs bureaucracy, no routine checks on trade, no paperwork whatsoever for Northern Irish goods moving into Great Britain and no border in the Irish Sea.

“We’ve protected Northern Ireland’s place in the Union with state aid reach-back fixed, the same tax rules applying everywhere, vet certificates for food lorries gone, the ban on British sausages gone, parcel paperwork gone, pet paperwork gone, garden centres now selling the same trees, supermarkets selling the same food, and pharmacies selling the same medicines.”

He confirmed that the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill will be scrapped following the creation of the framework, and urged MPs to vote on the side of the new agreement.

“Let us seize the opportunity of this moment, the certainty of an agreement that fixes the problems we faced, commands broad support and consensus and offers us, at last, the freedom to move forward together – that is what the people of Northern Ireland deserve, that is what the Windsor Framework delivers,” he continued.

“As a Conservative, a Brexiteer and a unionist, I believe passionately with my head and my heart that this is the right way forward – right for Northern Ireland, right for our United Kingdom.”

Rishi Sunak has said getting his Windsor Framework for Northern Ireland approved would create “the world’s most exciting economic zone” with access to EU and UK markets.

The Prime Minister, speaking at a factory in Northern Ireland, said: “If we get this right, if we get this framework implemented, if we get the Executive back up and running here, Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position – unique position in the entire world, European continent – in having privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous… but also the European Union single market.

“Nobody else has that. No one. Only you guys: only here, and that is the prize.

“I can tell you, when I go around the world and talk to businesses, they know that – they’re like: ‘That’s interesting. If you guys get this sorted, then we want to invest in Northern Ireland, because nowhere else does that exist.’

“That’s like the world’s most exciting economic zone.”

The UK government aims to work with international companies to help them “take advantage of Northern Ireland’s very special position”, he added.

“And they are queuing up to do so, particularly from the US actually.”

Rishi Sunak repeated his call for politicians in Northern Ireland to return to powersharing.

While the Prime Minister did not reference the DUP by name, he said that the Stormont brake contained in the Windsor Framework addressed concerns about sovereignty and the protocol.

Sunak was asked multiple questions about the fact the Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting. He said that concerns “people had with the protocol were valid”.

“Now look, how we deal with that is a separate question, but the fact that people had concerns about it, I think is reasonable.”He stressed that his new deal “corrected” the issues.

“The framework is a fantastic agreement that delivers on all the things people care about. So now I hope that they do see it and see that and they can find a way to come back together.”

He told the audience: “It’s what you deserve.”

“What we’ve done, though, is empower that assembly even more with this new Stormont brake that I talked about.

“Even more incentive to get back in. So for all the people who said well, we don’t feel like we’ve got enough sovereignty in this situation, that there’s a democratic deficit with this EU – we’ve corrected it. We’ve put more power in the hands of Stormont, in those very people. But they need to get back in, they need to get put back in so they can use those powers. We’ve provided the means now, and I hope that with time and space, they will see that that’s the right way forward.”

EU diplomats have told the BBC that they feel “positive” about the deal, but are now “watching and waiting” to see how it is received in the UK.

The union will be hoping that public opinion is favourable, and that more reluctant politicians have been persuaded.

If it is not - and if the DUP and Brexiteers reject the Windsor Framework - the mood will change pretty quickly. The EU has made a fair few concessions in this agreement, so likely won’t take well to what it may perceive as ingratitude.

Ireland’s PM, Leo Varadkar, warned that re-opening negotiations would be tough if the deal gets rejected.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said the Windsor Framework should have been signed four years ago - and would have been had the UK had a “serious” prime minister at the time.

Following a meeting with Rishi Sunak in Co Antrim, she said: “In terms of trading arrangements between the UK and particularly Northern Ireland and the EU, we recognise this is a major step forward.

“This is the deal we could have had in 2019 if we had a serious prime minister who was willing to engage respectfully with the EU. I suppose my one disappointment today is that we have had to wait for four years to have that circumstance.

“It does show when you engage in good faith you can make good progress.”

Both Theresa May and Boris Johnson served as UK Prime Minister in 2019, but most took Long’s comments as a reference to Johnson.

Rishi Sunak has just returned to Westminster, where he has to try to convince members of his own party to back his deal.

He's appearing before the 1922 committee where he'll face questions on the intricacies of the Windsor Framework and what it means for Northern Ireland in relation to the EU.

A particular area of concern for Eurosceptic Tories is the so-called 'Stormont Brake', which one MP has told Politico is looking a little "flimsier" than it did yesterday.

Rishi Sunak has addressed the Tory Party’s 1922 Committee after returning to Westminster.

Backbench MPs gathered to hear from the Prime Minister about the new Windsor Framework deal which was struck between the UK and the European Union.

Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker said after the meeting: “I cannot see how we will get better than this … this is the deal. I’m really clear, there isn’t a different deal available, this is what’s been negotiated and it’s good.

“People are worried about the DUP but there’s an earnest sense of relief and support. I think we all believe he’s done it, but now we just wait with bated breath to see if the DUP agrees.”