Sunak hints that the new deal will go ahead anyway, regardless of whether the DUP supports it or not.
Q: If the DUP decides not to proceed with power sharing, will the structure continue?
sunak says that’s what the government agreed with the EU.
It’s what’s best for the people of Northern Ireland, he says.
That is what he will speak to people in Northern Ireland about today.
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Sunak says it is what the government has agreed with the EU.
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It is about what is best for the people of Northern Ireland, he says.
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That is what he will be talking about to people in Northern Ireland today.
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Sunak says the deal is about “balance”. That is why some EU laws will still apply in Northern Ireland. But less than 3% of laws will continue to apply there.
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And the Stormont brake will allow Northern Ireland to block new EU laws there, he says.
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Martha Kearney is interviewing Rishi Sunak on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. They are both in Northern Ireland.
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Q: What will people in Northern Ireland notice from this?
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Sunak says he has spent a lot of time listening to the problems in Northern Ireland. He thinks the Windsor framework will address those. He hopes people will support it when they have had “the time and the space” to read it.
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Q: You are admitting that the original protocol was flawed. Will you apologise for it?
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Sunak says he has been explicit about the problems. It is just his job to fix it.
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Joe Biden, the American president, has welcomed the Northern Ireland protocol deal. Here is an extract from the statement he has released.
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\n
Today’s announcement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the Windsor framework is an essential step to ensuring that the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement is preserved and strengthened. I appreciate the efforts of the leaders and officials on all sides who worked tirelessly to find a way forward that protects Northern Ireland’s place within the UK’s internal market as well as the EU’s single market, to the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland.
\n
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Good morning. Yesterday, after months of negotiating a deal and days of dithering about how to present it, Rishi Sunak finally announed the “Windsor framework” – the new version of the Northern Ireland protocol agreed with the EU. He was worried about provoking a Conservative Brexiter backlash, but yesterday the announcement landed about as well as he could have expected – or perhaps even better.
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Tory MPs were largely supportive and the Brexit hardliners in the ERG, who only a week ago said that any deal that kept Northern Ireland under the remit of the European court of justice (as the Windsor framework does) would be unacceptable, were reserving judgment, and not speaking out in public. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, was reasonably positive (by unionist standards). Outright criticism was coming only from people such as Nigel Farage and the DUP hardliner Ian Paisley, both of whom said the deal “did not cut the mustard”. By Brexiter standards, that is hardly the most damning verdict.
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And Boris Johnson? The former PM had been threatening to lead a Tory revolt against the renegotiation. In the event, he did not even attend the Commons statement. (Perhaps he was on another urgent trip to Afghanistan?) As my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports, sources say he is still considering what to do. But this morning Johnson looks diminished. As Paul Waugh writes in the i, “the real win for Sunak may be that he’s finally weaning his party off its addiction to Boris Johnson”.
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Here is our overnight story about the announcement yesterday.
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Rishi Sunak is about to give an interview to Today. Here is the agenda for the day.
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8.10am: Rishi Sunak is interviewed on the Today programme. He is in Belfast, where later he will be doing a Q&A with workers.
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11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
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11.30am: Grant Shapps, the energy secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
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12.20pm: Humza Yousaf, the SNP leadership candidate, launches his early years childcare strategy.
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12.30pm: Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, gives a speech to the Onward thinktank.
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5pm: Sunak is due to address the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee in London.
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I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
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If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
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main events
Q: Do companies here say the corporation tax increase will make it difficult to compete with Ireland?
sunak says companies want stability and certainty.
He spent a lot of time getting involved with business groups. They say that if the protocol issue is resolved, it will free up a lot of investment. As Northern Ireland forms part of the single market, it is an attractive location for businesses.
Q: Do you hope this will open up a new relationship with the EU?
sunak says it’s important to have a good relationship with our nearest neighbor. He says we have many shared challenges. Cooperation with countries like France is yielding benefits.
He ends by describing the Stormont brake as “an incredibly powerful measure”.
The interview is over.
Q: Have you spoken to Boris Johnson about this?
sunak he says of course that he talks to “the former prime minister”.
Sunak hints that the new deal will go ahead anyway, regardless of whether the DUP supports it or not.
Q: If the DUP decides not to proceed with power sharing, will the structure continue?
sunak says that’s what the government agreed with the EU.
It’s what’s best for the people of Northern Ireland, he says.
That is what he will speak to people in Northern Ireland about today.
Sunak says less than 3% of EU laws will continue to apply in Northern Ireland under the deal
sunak says the deal is about “balance”. This is why some EU laws will still apply in Northern Ireland. But less than 3% of the laws will continue to apply there.
And the Stormont brake will allow Northern Ireland to block new EU laws there, he says.
sunak confirms that all border posts will not be removed. Border posts will be needed for goods in the red channel, he says.
P: And there’s still going to be a check on the green belt, isn’t there?
sunak says there will be no routine checks. But there will be checks when there are suspicions of criminality or smuggling. That’s right, he says.
Sunak refuses to apologize for government decision to sign original NI protocol
Martha Kearney is interviewing Rishi Sunak on BBC Radio 4’s Today show. Both are in Northern Ireland.
Q: What will people in Northern Ireland take away from this?
sunak says he spent a lot of time listening to the problems in Northern Ireland. He thinks the Windsor structure will address that. He hopes people will support him when they have “the time and space” to read it.
Q: You are admitting that the original protocol was flawed. Are you going to apologize for this?
sunak says he was explicit about the problems. It’s just your job to fix it.
Biden says NI deal is ‘essential step to ensure hard-won peace is preserved’
Joe Biden, the American president, welcomed the Northern Ireland protocol agreement. Here is an extract from the statement he released.
Today’s announcement between the UK and the European Union on the Windsor framework is an essential step towards ensuring that the hard-won peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement is preserved and strengthened. I appreciate the efforts of leaders and officials on all sides who worked tirelessly to find a way forward that would protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market, as well as the EU’s single market, for the benefit of all communities from Northern Ireland.
Rishi Sunak interviewed on Today after UK and EU agree on Northern Ireland deal
Good morning. Yesterday, after months of negotiating a deal and days of hesitating over how to present it, Rishi Sunak finally announced the “Windsor framework” – the new version of the Northern Ireland protocol agreed with the EU. He was worried about provoking a Conservative Brexiter backlash, but yesterday’s announcement went down as well as he could have hoped – or maybe even better.
Conservative MPs were broadly supportive and Brexit hardliners in the ERG, who just a week ago said any deal that kept Northern Ireland under the purview of the European court of justice (as the Windsor structure does) would be unacceptable, were reserving the trial, not public speaking. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, was reasonably positive (by Unionist standards). Direct criticism came only from the likes of Nigel Farage and DUP hardliner Ian Paisley, who said the deal “didn’t cut the mustard”. By Brexiter standards, this is hardly the most damning verdict.
And Boris Johnson? The former prime minister had been threatening to lead a conservative revolt against the renegotiation. At the event, he didn’t even show up for Commons’ statement. (Perhaps he was on another urgent trip to Afghanistan?) As my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports, sources say he is still considering what to do. But this morning Johnson looks diminished. As Paul Waugh writes on i, “the real victory for Sunak may be that he is finally kicking his party’s addiction to Boris Johnson”.
Here’s our overnight story on yesterday’s announcement.
Rishi Sunak is about to give an interview to Today. Here is the agenda for the day.
8:10 am: Rishi Sunak is interviewed on the Today show. He is in Belfast where he will later hold a question and answer session with workers.
11:30 am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11:30 am: Grant Shapps, Energy Secretary, answers questions in the House of Commons.
12:20: Humza Yousaf, the SNP leadership candidate, launches his early childhood care strategy.
12:30 pm: Michael Gove, the leveling secretary, gives a speech to the Onward thinktank.
5 pm: Sunak is due to address the 1922 Conservative Committee in London.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it’s impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they are of general interest I will post the question and answer above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to get my attention quickly, you’re probably better off using Twitter. I’m in @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.