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

What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and how does it affect the UK?

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.

Key Points

• Sunak says ‘breakthrough’ Brexit deal marks ‘new way forward'
• New deal ‘removes any sense of border in Irish Sea’, insists PM
• Agreement to create ‘green’ and ‘red’ lanes for goods entering NI
• ‘Stormont brake’ will place Northern Ireland in ‘control of their destiny’, says Sunak
• King meets von der Leyen for tea at Windsor Castle

[28 February 2023 08:45 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

DUP leader gives cautious welcome to the Stormont brake aspect of deal

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson gave a cautious welcome to the Stormont brake aspect of the protocol deal.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “at first reading”, the Stormont brake mechanism gives the devolved government in Northern Ireland “the ability to apply the brake where the application of EU law for the purposes of facilitating cross-border trade impacts on our ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom”.

Sir Jeffrey said Northern Ireland should have unfettered access to the GB market, and if changes to EU law were to impact that “then it is right that Stormont has a brake and that we’re able to ultimately veto any new such law”.

He insisted the brake would not be used for “trivial reasons”.

“We want to do it in circumstances where a change to law would impact on our ability with trade with the rest of the United Kingdom, and that certainly is no trivial matter,” he added.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

[28 February 2023 08:30 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

James Cleverly denies ministers are politicising the monarchy

Foreign secretary James Cleverly has denied ministers were politicising the monarchy following the King’s meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Mr Cleverly told LBC radio: “I genuinely don’t understand that argument. The other week President Zelensky came to the UK and, as a senior international guest, he had an audience with His Majesty the King.

“Ursula von der Leyen is a very senior international representative. It is therefore not unusual as part of our hospitality to international guests to facilitate a meeting.

“It was our invitation for Ursula von der Leyen to come to the UK to finalise this deal with the Prime Minister. Of course that was a conversation we had with the Palace.

“The final decision on the availability of His Majesty is with the Palace.”

[28 February 2023 08:21 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Sunak says new Brexit deal ‘isn’t about personalities’ when pressed about former PM

When asked if he has been briefing Boris Johnson about his new Brexit deal, Rishi Sunak said “this isn’t about personalities”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, the prime minister said: “Of course I speak to the former prime minister but this isn’t about any of us, this isn’t about personalities, this is about the people of Northen Ireland and what’s best for them.”

(PA)

[28 February 2023 08:15 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Foreign secretary James Cleverly on the DUP

Foreign secretary James Cleverly has said it will be “hugely disappointing” if the Democratic Unionist Party does not return to the Stormont powersharing executive following Rishi Sunak’s deal with Brussels.

Mr Cleverly said the government had been “very, very focused” on the party’s concerns in their negotiations with the EU on post-Brexit trading arrangements.

“They are quite understandably going to want to look at the detail of this. I really hope that once they look at the detail of this they will see we have taken their concerns very, very seriously,” he told Sky News.

“I think they will know that I have been very, very focused on the concerns they have expressed on behalf of their community. They will have real authority when it comes to the Stormont brake.

“If they don’t re-enter the powersharing executive, that will be hugely disappointing. It won’t be good news for the people of Northern Ireland.”

(PA Wire)

[28 February 2023 07:59 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Boris Johnson considers rebellion over Brexit deal as he ‘tells DUP to withhold support’

Boris Johnson is considering whether to rebel over the post-Brexit deal struck by Rishi Sunak and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

A source close to the former Tory prime minister said he was studying and reflecting on the Windsor Framework plan to end the Northern Ireland Protocol row.

They did not deny a report that Mr Johnson had asked the DUP to without support until they had looked carefully at the agreement.

Adam Forrest reports:

[28 February 2023 07:18 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

How the Brexit deal was done

The Brexit deal struck by Rishi Sunak and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor depended on some delicate choreography involving a luxury hotel, a popular wedding venue and a royal residence.

The blossoming romance between the prime minister and the European Commission president saw the pair dart around the wealthy Berkshire town at a series of events aimed at selling the accord to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol row.

The pair did not really need to charm each other, after painstaking talks between officials in London and Brussels forged the big breakthroughs weeks ago. Rather, their aim was to seduce others on the merits of their entente cordiale.

Adam Forrest has more.

[28 February 2023 07:00 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Trust in UK government hits record low

Three-quarters of people told communication firm Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer that they thought the UK was heading in the wrong direction, a record figure since the survey started in 2001.

For the first time in eight years, a majority of people said they expected their standard of living to get worse over the next year while less than a quarter thought their situation would improve in the next five years.

The survey of 3,000 UK adults, carried out at the end of January, also found two-thirds of people thought inequality was increasing.

Some 14 per cent said the same about skipping credit card or loan repayments, while 12 per cent said the same about rent or mortgage payments.

Read more here.

[28 February 2023 06:30 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Steve Baker says Brexit ‘cost me my mental health’

Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker yesterday said the stalemate over Brexit “cost me my mental health” as he hailed the new deal struck by prime minister Rishi Sunak.

The self-styled “Brexit hard man” called Mr Sunak’s agreement an “extraordinary opportunity” for Northern Ireland.

He opened up about the impact of years of infighting over the EU and said the treaty agreement left him “emotional”.

“Seven years of this cost me my mental health,” Mr Baker told BBC Newsnight.

“In November 2021, I had a major mental health crisis – anxiety and depression. I couldn’t go on. People couldn’t tell [and] I made a big keynote in the afternoon.

“But make no mistake, holding these tigers by the tail – Brexit, Covid Recovery Group, Net Zero Scrutiny Group, the tax stuff we did with Conservative Way Forward – took its toll, we’re all only human.”

[28 February 2023 06:00 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

Pound surges after UK and EU agree on Northern Ireland deal

The pound jumped higher after Britain and the EU secured a new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland in a move set to end long-running tensions following the UK’s withdrawal.

Sterling leaped 0.7% higher to 1.20 US dollars and was 0.3% up at 1.14 euros after a government source said prime minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had signed a breakthrough deal at a meeting in Windsor, Berkshire.

The FTSE 100 Index was also trading 0.6% or 50.7 points higher at 7929.4 in afternoon trading yesterday.

Rich Booth reports.

[28 February 2023 05:30 · Alisha Rahaman Sarkar]

PM seeks to sell ‘breakthrough’ deal

Rishi Sunak is expected to travel 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 new deal, dubbed the Windsor Framework, removes barriers on trade across the Irish Sea and hands a “veto” to politicians in Stormont on EU law.

But it still includes a role for the European Court of Justice, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Tory backbenchers now set to study closely the details of the complex set of arrangements in the coming days.

The prime minister is also expected to speak to backbench MPs today.

Read more here.