Brexit deal – latest news: No 10 suggests no changes can be made to Windsor Agreement
‘We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland’, says Downing Street
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There is no room for any changes to be made to the new Brexit deal, No 10 has indicated following the announcement of the “historic” agreement.
Asked if Rishi Sunak might return to Brussels to ask for any changes requested by the DUP, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Certainly I think you heard the prime minister asked similar questions today. We think we have secured the right deal for all parties in Northern Ireland.
“We stand ready to have further talks with those parties if they have questions about how it works in practice, indeed, we did a great deal of that in the run up to this announcement.”
Mr Sunak travelled to Northern Ireland after securing a deal with the EU that he promised would be a “turning point” for the region after years of post-Brexit tensions.
The so-called Windsor Framework was earlier hailed as “historic” by the European Commission president, who insisted the deal marked a “new chapter” in UK-EU relations at a press conference with the prime minister.
Watch: Rishi Sunak says Northern Ireland in 'special position' with access to EU single market
‘Stormont should be up and running now'
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said there was no reason why the Stormont powersharing institutions could not be operating while parties study the detail of the Windsor Framework.
He said: “Stormont could be up and running now. You could have an executive now, and at the same time we could be looking at this framework.
“You can do that at the same time.
“But if we drag this out for months then businesses will be sitting there not knowing whether they are coming or going.
“We need to hear from business, we need to know if it works for them.
“But there is no point dragging it out. People need to show the courage of their convictions, look at the deal, come up with your analysis and make your pitch.”
‘Disingenuous’ to suggest Windsor Framework will take weeks or months to formulate, says Unionist leader
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said it was “disingenuous” for any political party to suggest it would take weeks or months to formulate a response to the Windsor Framework.
Speaking following a meeting with the prime minister in Co Antrim, Mr Beattie said Mr Sunak had been “buoyant”.
He said: “I think the Stormont brake is one of those things which sounds good when you talk about it, but as soon as you start delving into it and understanding how it actually works, it throws up more questions than it does answers.
“But I can see the prime minister is working hard to sell this deal and we will work hard to scrutinise it.
“Anyone who is saying this should take weeks and months, I think is being disingenuous.
Michelle O’Neill: ‘Priority must be getting Stormont up and moving'
Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill said she has spoken to the prime minister in a phone conversation.
She tweeted: “I welcomed yesterday’s breakthrough. The deal is now done.
“My key message is to let’s keep momentum going.
“The priority must now be getting Stormont up and moving without delay.”
Watch: Former home secretary Jacqui Smith tells journalist to 'shut up' on live TV
PM says he wants to ‘move forward’ when asked about undoing predecessor’s damage
Rishi Sunak said he wanted to “move forward” when it was put to him that much of his work on the Windsor Framework was effectively undoing the damage of Boris Johnson’s deal.
The Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to a Coca-Cola plant in County Antrim: “I was very clear in Parliament yesterday about the challenges of the protocol.
“I was open about it and that’s why I’ve spent time... really understanding them deeply because I care passionately about Northern Ireland, its people and its place in the union.
“But my job as a new Prime Minister is try to move forward and look to the future and make sure that future is better, and that’s what we have tried very hard to do.”
Sunak stresses important of ‘good, constructive’ relations between UK and Ireland
The prime minister stressed the importance of “good, constructive” relations between the UK and Ireland, during a visit to County Antrim as he promoted his new deal with the EU.
Asked about relations between London and Dublin, Rishi Sunak praised the support of the Irish Government over recent months.
Speaking to broadcasters, Mr Sunak said: “I was the first UK Prime Minister to attend the British-Irish Council in over a decade, shortly after I became Prime Minister.
“I think it is important we have good, constructive relations with our allies, our neighbours, our friends, and of course that means, and especially that means, the Republic of Ireland.
“That is what I have tried to do in my job as Prime Minister. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris has done the same.
“I am grateful to the Irish Government for the support they have given both the UK Government and the EU and everyone in Northern Ireland to help trying to find a resolution here.”
Rishi Sunak mocked for calling Northern Ireland ‘world’s most exciting economic zone’
Rishi Sunak said his post-Brexit deal meant Northern Ireland was the world’s “most exciting economic zone” with access to both EU and UK markets.
Critics online were swift to point out that the entire UK had full access to the EU’s “exciting” single market before Brexit.
On a visit to Lisburn’s Coca-Cola factory, the PM said: “Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position, a unique position in the entire world, European continent.”
He said the province was now had “privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous, but also the EU single market”.
Mr Sunak told the audience of workers: “Nobody else has that. No one. Only you guys – only here, and that is the prize.”
Adam Forrest reports:
Rishi Sunak mocked for calling Northern Ireland ‘world’s most exciting economic zone’
Province in ‘unbelievably special position’ of having access to EU single market, says PM
New Stormont brake an ‘incredibly powerful’ mechanism for people of Northern Ireland, PM says
Rishi Sunak has said the new Stormont brake in the Windsor Framework is an “incredibly powerful” mechanism ensuring the people of Northern Ireland have control of their own destiny.
Speaking in a pooled clip for broadcasters during a visit to County Antrim, the Prime Minister said he wanted to work with the parties to agree how it would be applied in practice.
“The Stormont brake is an incredibly powerful new cross-community safeguard. What it means is that the people and institutions of Northern Ireland are in control of their destiny,” he said.
“If there is a significant new EU law that comes along that will have lasting and significant impact on everyday lives of people here in Northern Ireland, then the assembly will be allowed to pull the emergency brake.
“Once that is done it is crystal clear the UK Government then does have an unequivocal veto. The UK Government wants to sit down with the parties in Northern Ireland to codify how the UK Government would use that veto to make sure everyone has reassurance that it will work properly.”
Critics point out Sunak unintentionally highlighting disadvantages of Brexit in Northern Ireland speech
Rishi Sunak said his post-Brexit deal meant Northern Ireland was the world’s “most exciting economic zone” with access to both EU and UK markets.
But critics online were swift to point out that the entire UK had full access to the EU’s “exciting” single market before Brexit.
Several commentators said that the prime minister was pointing out the disadvantages of Brexit, since Great Britain had lost access to the single market by quitting the EU.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Femi Oluwole tweeted: “Rishi Sunak just spent 2 minutes boasting about how Northern Ireland is the “most exciting investment zone on the planet” because it has full access to the UK and EU market... You know... like we did before Brexit!”
It follows similar criticism for Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who told the BBC: “What an extraordinary opportunity for Northern Ireland: dual access to both markets”.
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