Furious Brexit clashes in PMQs as DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson ambushes Rishi Sunak and demands he axe ‘undemocratic’ EU laws in Northern Ireland if he wants a new Brexit deal with Brussels amid threat of revolt by Tory backbenchers and hardline unionists
- DUP and Tory Brexiteers warn there’s ‘still some way to go’ on a Protocol deal
- Jeffrey Donaldson meets with European Research Group of MPs at Westminster
Rishi Sunak was cornered by unionists and Labour at Prime Ministers Questions today as he was attacked over his attempt to sort a Brexit deal with the EU.
DUP leader Sir Jeffery Donaldson ripped into the PM as he demanded the whole withdrawal agreement be rewritten to remove jurisdiction for ‘undemocratic’ EU laws in Northern Ireland.
Mr Sunak was also put on the spot at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour leader Keir Starmer over an outline agreement with Brussels that could be ready to go this week if the DUP agrees to back it.
The agreement would seek to solve the months-long impasse over a trade former in Northern Ireland that has become a running political and economic sore.
Speaking in a packed House of Commons, Sir Jeffrey said: ‘Does the Prime Minister accept how important the constitution and democratic issues are in relation to getting a solution, and will he agree with me that is unacceptable that EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent? And will he assure me that he will address these fundamental constitutional issues and do so not just by tweaking the protocol, but by rewriting the legally binding treaty text?’
But Mr Sunak declined to agree, replying: ‘I have heard loud and clear when he says he wants and needs these issues resolved so that he has a basis to work with others to restore power-sharing and I know that that is genuine.’
Sir Keir also asked him about the retention of EU laws in Ulster – a key sticking point – which would be required to avert a hard border in the island of Ireland, to with virtually the whole Conservative Party watching on.
The PM refused to commit to removing it, accusing the Labour leader of ‘jumping ahead’ over a text he has yet to see.
Mr Sunak was put on the spot at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour leader Keir Starmer over an outline agreement with Brussels that could be ready to go this week if the DUP agrees to back it.
At PMQs Sir Keir Starmer asked him about the retention of EU laws in Ulster – a key sticking point – which would be required to avert a hard border in the island of Ireland, to with virtually the whole Conservative Party watching on.
Three recent polls by YouGov, Deltapoll and Redfield and Wilton Strategies, put Labour on at least 50 per cent of the vote.
Mr Sunak said: ‘As he knows, we are still in active discussions with the European Union, but he should know that I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes.’
He also refused to accede to a demand from DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson that he rewrite the whole EU withdrawal agreement text.
He suggested MPs would get a Commons’ vote on any deal that is agreed, though No10 later played down the chances of this happening.
It comes as opinion polls showed the Tories falling even further behind Labour in the polls. Three recent polls by YouGov, Deltapoll and Redfield and Wilton Strategies, put Labour on at least 50 per cent of the vote.
Sir Jeffrey last night warned there was ‘some way to go’ to placate his party over rules governing goods entering Ulster from Britain.
What is the Brexit row about and what has been the impact on Northern Ireland?
The UK and the EU have been engaged in substantive negotiations over the workings of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the original withdrawal agreement that allowed the UK to leave the EU.
It was designed to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border with Ulster after Brexit.
Rather than being an internal EU line between two countries, with Brexit it became a border between the bloc and a third party country with different customs and trade rules.
In any other cases it would be solved simply by creating a ‘hard’ border – physical checks on vehicles and people travelling between the two.
But the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence in 1998, expressly prohibits a return to such checkpoints on the island of Ireland.
To get around this the protocol instead created economic barriers on trade being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
It has proven to be deeply unpopular with unionists, who claim it has weakened Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.
Last year the DUP collapsed the powersharing institutions at Stormont in protest at the arrangements. It came as the party was replaced as the largest in the powersharing government by Sinn Fein for the first time.
And the DUP is refusing to back a deal and restart powersharing unless their concerns are realised. They have set seven tests that it must pass to be approved.
However, a minister today suggested the DUP needed to ‘live in the real world’ and accept the deal.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to ‘conduct themselves in good faith’ when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
Asked whether the DUP was ‘letting down’ people in Northern Ireland, he said: ‘I think people in politics have got to remember what we’re there for: we’re here to serve, it is a life of public service. No one party has a monopoly on what’s right for Northern Ireland.’
One senior Tory ERG member told MailOnline it would be ‘suicide’ for the PM to push ahead with a deal without getting the DUP on board, warning there would inevitably be a Commons vote.
‘They’d be stupid. If the institutions aren’t restored it’ll be a futile exercise,’ the MP said.
‘He must listen to sensible advice.’
The MP added: ‘The EU will be more persuadable if the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill goes ahead.’
Another former minister suggested that Mr Sunak could only be hoping that the DUP takes a neutral stance on any deal. ‘I think that must be it,’ they said.
Sir Jeffrey last night outlined how his party was pushing for the UK Government to remove requirements for Northern Ireland businesses to have to abide by EU laws when selling goods to the rest of the UK.
He said the idea of ‘dynamic alignment’ between Northern Ireland and EU rules, as currently exists under the Protocol, was ‘the key issue’ in his party’s opposition to the post-Brexit arrangements.
The ERG, which has often been a staunch supporter of the DUP on Brexit issues, insisted it could only take a view on a Protocol deal once it had been scrutinised by its ‘Star Chamber’ of lawyers.
A revolt by Tory eurosceptics against a Protocol deal could imperil Mr Sunak’s chances of finally resolving the UK’s dispute with Brussels and put further pressure on his premiership.
The DUP are continuing to boycott powersharing in Northern Ireland as part of their protest against the Protocol, with a resolution to the UK-EU row seen as critical to restoring Stormont government.
Speaking after a meeting with the ERG at Westminster tonight, attended by up to 50 MPs, Sir Jeffrey commended Mr Sunak for the progress he had made so far on reaching a Protocol deal with the EU.
But he added: ‘There’s still some way to go, there are still some very key issues that need to be resolved.
‘We will work with the Government to ensure we get the right outcome. An outcome that respects Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and its internal market, an outcome that meets our seven tests, and an outcome that sees the political institutions in Northern Ireland restored on a firm democratic footing.’
Sir Jeffrey said the DUP were ‘concerned’ that any deal means the application of EU law is replaced by UK law for Northern Ireland businesses trading goods with the rest of the UK.
He stressed that Northern Ireland should ‘follow UK law and UK standards for trade within the UK and, for trade with the EU, we follow EU law and EU standards’.
‘That’s very clear. The Protocol created a huge problem for Northern Ireland and our ability to trade with the rest of the UK,’ he added. ‘That at its heart is what needs to be resolved.’
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to ‘conduct themselves in good faith’ when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was ‘still some way to go’ on a Protocol deal after meeting with Tory Brexiteers at Westminster
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is thought to be on the verge of striking a deal over the post-Brexit trade dispute with the EU
The DUP leader said it was ‘not acceptable’ to have a situation where Northern Ireland could import goods from Great Britain and sell them as products made to UK standards, but then make the same products in Northern Ireland and be forced to make them to EU standards.
‘The idea that all goods manufactured in Northern Ireland should align to the EU single market and its rules really inhibits our ability to trade within the UK and that’s not acceptable,’ he added.
Sir Jeffrey admitted he had yet to see the legal text of any Protocol agreement between the UK and EU, but said it was ‘possible’ that a breakthrough could emerge ‘in the next few days’.
Pressed on whether Brussels would ever agree to the DUP’s demands, Sir Jeffrey pointed out how he was previously told the EU would never renegotiate the Protocol.
‘I don’t subscribe to the never ever view,’ he added.
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text.
‘Any MP worth their salt, if they’re asked to vote on a deal, weants to be able to read it first,’ he said. ‘That’s not unreasonable.
‘We too would be very keen to read the legal text and our Star Chamber of lawyers, under Sir Bill Cash’s chairmanship, will put it through pretty close scrutiny.
‘And then when we’ve had a chance to do that we can given you an opinion too.
‘But I think it’s not unreasonable to point out, you can’t ask for the degree of support or otherwise for a deal or against a deal, until you can’t actually ask what the deal is.’
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the EU’s Maros Sefcovic had earlier held talks via video link.
Mr Cleverly said the trio ‘remain laser-focussed on finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland’ and would speak again soon.
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