Penny Mordaunt says Boris Johnson’s Brexit intervention ‘helpful’ and ‘lots to be done’ before deal is reached

Published

3 years ago

February 19, 2023

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Penny Mordaunt said Boris Johnson’s Brexit intervention is “helpful” as there is “there’s still a lot to be done” to secure a deal over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

In a move that could trigger a new Tory civil war on Brexit, a source close to the former prime minister told Sky News: “His general thinking is that it would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill (NIPB).”

This is in relation to controversial legislation introduced by Mr Johnson which gives ministers power to rip up parts of the protocol and ignore EU rules.

Politics live: Labour peer warns ex-PM not to ‘wreck’ negotiations

Mr Sunak is battling to reach a new deal over post Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland to avoid needing the bill, which Brussels has warned is “illegal and unrealistic”.

Asked about the warning from Mr Johnson, the Commons Leader told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday (SROS) programme: “Boris is being Boris

“I wouldn’t say this is this is a completely unhelpful intervention.

“The prime minister will acknowledge that having the Northern Ireland protocol bill there, having the work that the former prime minister did, has helped us get where we are.

“But it has always been our preference to try and have a negotiated settlement and that is what everyone is working to. There’s still a lot to be done.”

Ms Mordaunt is the latest senior politician to warn there is still some way to go yet before a deal is reached, following mounting speculation of a breakthrough in talks.

Rishi Sunak said on Saturday that while Britain and the EU have an understanding on what needs to be done to resolve issues surrounding the protocol a deal is “by no means done”.

Boris ‘should be quiet and not wreck deal’

Labour peer Lord Mandelson told Sky News Mr Johnson should “be quiet” and not seek to “wreck” a deal for the sake of opposing the prime minister.

“There’s nothing that Boris is doing now, or indeed throughout our recent history with the European Union that could possibly be described as ‘helpful’,” said the former Northern Ireland secretary, who was responsible for implementing the Good Friday Agreement.

“He and his supporters want to undermine the prime minister. It’s just a sort of continuation of the fratricidal war that we see in the Conservative Party.”

The government is under pressure to resolve the row which has left Northern Ireland without a functioning devolved government since early last year.

The protocol was agreed between the EU and Mr Johnson as part of the Brexit agreement in 2020 in order to avoid a hard physical border on the island of Ireland.

But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Belfast is angry about the economic barriers to trade it has created on goods moving between NI and the rest of the UK, and is refusing to form an executive at Stormont until it is abandoned or replaced.

Ms Mordaunt stressed any deal to fix the protocol must be supported by the the DUP, suggesting it would not work if the European Court of Justice (ECJ) retains an oversight role.

“Unless this deal is satisfactory to all communities in Northern Ireland, it won’t be possible, it’s not going to work,” she said.

“The DUP’s tests that they have referred to are not a random wishlist, they are promises that we have made to the people of Northern Ireland. That is the bar that this deal has to get over and and I know that the prime minister is completely focused on that.”

The role of the ECJ has been a key sticking point in negotiations, with the DUP and many Tory MPs on the right of the party also opposed to it.

Because Northern Ireland is still subject to EU trade rules, Brussels believes its court should have a heavy involvement in resolving disputes.

While it is understood the EU and UK are close to signing off a deal that would reduce protocol red tape on the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, there is no expectation that Brussels is willing to agree to end the application of EU law in the region.

The EU contends that a fundamental plank of the protocol – namely that Northern Ireland traders can sell freely into the European single market – is dependent on the operation of EU rules there.

ECJ ‘symbolic issue’ for Tory MPs

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the role of the ECJ has become a “symbolic” issue for certain quarters of the Tory party and urged the government to take a “common sense” approach to the issue which just “simplifies the process” for trade.

She repeated that Labour would provide “political cover” to Mr Suank by supporting his deal if he faces trouble from Conservative rebels, saying it is in “the national interest” to find a resolution.

“This is about making Brexit work,” she said.

On the ECJ, she said: “There’s going to have to be some kind of dispute resolution process so we should just be really pragmatic… about approaching that.

“I really hope that that is the approach that ministers are taking.”

However, former business secretary and leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg backed the DUP’s position over the Northern Ireland Protocol as “extremely reasonable”.

He told Sky News the seven tests set out by the DUP in July 2021 “are absolutely the right tests”.

“I think the DUP’s position is extremely reasonable, that it why I am supporting it,” he said.

World

Pressure mounts on PM to raise Israel’s Gaza offensive with Trump

Published

6 hours ago

September 17, 2025

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Pressure mounts on PM to raise Israel's Gaza offensive with Trump

Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to raise Israel’s bombardment of Gaza with Donald Trump during his UK state visit, after a UN Commission said a genocide was taking place.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used the president’s arrival on Tuesday night to call for action on the escalating situation, as Israeli forces advance in Gaza City.

Sky News analysis has found thousands of families remain in the city’s crowded tent camps, despite a ground offensive beginning yesterday.

Sir Ed, who is boycotting the state dinner being held for Mr Trump, said Sir Keir must “press” the president now.

He said: “What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. And the president of the United States, who wants a Nobel Peace Prize, is doing nothing to stop it.”

On Tuesday, a United Nations Commission agreed Israel was committing genocide in Gaza – the first time such an explosive allegation has been made publicly by a UN body.

Israel‘s foreign ministry said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the commission to be abolished.

‘We cannot be bystanders’

Reports suggest the situation will be a talking point between Sir Keir and Mr Trump during his visit.

It comes before the UK is due to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month, along with allies including Canada and France.

In a late night statement, Canada’s foreign ministry described the Gaza City offensive as “horrific”.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed added: “We have long said that Hamas is genocidal and condemned them for their actions.

“Now, I think we have to say that what the Netanyahu government is doing amounts to genocide.”

Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, a former shadow minister, also called on her party leader to make discussing the situation in Gaza with Mr Trump a “top priority”.

Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, she said: “We say ‘never again’ when we look at Bosnia and Rwanda, but here we are again, and it’s been livestreamed, and we’ve all seen it.

“We cannot be bystanders to a genocide.”

UN report pulls no punches

The accusation of genocide is made by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

It alleges Israel has been “killing Palestinians or forcing them to live in inhumane conditions that led to death; causing serious bodily or mental harm, including through torture, displacement and sexual crime; deliberately imposing inhumane conditions, and fourthly, imposing measures intending to prevent births”.

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Earlier this month, the International Association of Genocide Scholars also passed a resolution stating that Israel’s conduct passed the threshold of committing genocide.

However, a report from the British government said it had “not concluded” that Israel intended to “destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.

Nearly 65,000 people are now believed to have died, according to figures collated by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

World

Thousands of families remain in Gaza City as Israeli army advances

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2025

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Thousands of families remain in Gaza City as Israeli army advances

As the Israeli army advances on Gaza City, thousands of families remain in the city’s crowded tent camps.

Sky News analysis of satellite imagery taken on Monday 15 September shows tent camps stretching across the western half of the city.

A close-up view shows one camp spilling out on to the city’s beaches.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched its ground assault overnight on Tuesday 16 September, in what the military said was a “new phase” in its offensive.

“Gaza is burning,” defence minister Israel Katz posted on X as the operation began. “IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the offensive as “utterly reckless and appalling”, adding that it “will only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages”.

Footage verified by Sky News shows Israeli tanks entering the Gaza Strip from the north overnight on Tuesday.

Israeli soldiers later filmed themselves in an area just north of Gaza City.

Satellite imagery taken a day earlier shows that while some tent camps in the area have been abandoned in the past few days, many others have not.

The IDF advance comes after an intense week of airstrikes targeting buildings in Gaza City. Sky News has verified dozens of videos showing strikes on buildings across the city.

Several of these strikes destroyed entire tower blocks, such as this strike on Al Ghafari Tower.

At least 50 people were killed across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said, most of them in Gaza City.

The IDF said it estimated 40% of people in Gaza City had fled south, while Hamas said that only 190,000 out of 1.3 million residents had left (15%).

An evacuation order for the entire city was first issued on 9 September, with a map on 13 September instructing Palestinians to flee to what Israel has designated a “humanitarian area” along a stretch of sandy coastline known as Al Mawasi.

Satellite imagery from Sunday 14 September shows that the area is already crowded with tents.

Last week, the UN’s Gaza humanitarian country team said that “neither the size nor scale of services provided is fit to support those already there, let alone new arrivals”.

Those fleeing south face a journey of at least 15km (9.3 miles), much of it through Israeli-designated combat zones. Local health officials said at least one vehicle travelling south from Gaza City had been hit by an Israeli strike.

Among those staying put on Tuesday was Um Mohammad, who lives in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City.

“It is like escaping from death towards death, so we are not leaving,” she said.

The IDF says the next stage of the operation will involve both air and ground forces, and that the number of soldiers involved will increase over the coming days.

Additional reporting by Sam Doak, OSINT producer.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

UN Commission says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

Published

1 day ago

September 16, 2025

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UN Commission says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a commission established by the United Nations.

The report claims “it is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza” and says Israel’s actions meet the criteria set down for defining a genocide.

It is the first time that such an explosive allegation has been made publicly by a UN body, and is likely to be greeted with fury by the Israeli government.

Follow live updates: ‘Gaza is burning’ after overnight strikes

Israel‘s Foreign Ministry said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the commission to be abolished.

“Three individuals serving as Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly antisemitic positions – and whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide – released today another fake ‘report’ about Gaza,” it said in a statement.

“The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others. These fabrications have already been thoroughly debunked.”

The accusation of genocide is made by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The commission, which has been studying the conduct of Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, has concluded that Israel has committed four of the five acts laid out in the Genocide Convention.

It alleges Israel has been killing Palestinians or forcing them to live in inhumane conditions that led to death; causing serious bodily or mental harm, including through torture, displacement and sexual crime; deliberately imposing inhumane conditions, and fourthly, imposing measures intending to prevent births.

This final claim is linked to an attack on the Al-Basma IVF clinic, which the commission claims destroyed around 4,000 embryos and a further 1,000 sperm samples.

The report claims Israel has “flagrantly” ignored “numerous warnings” over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and has set out to “destroy the healthcare system in Gaza”.

It also alleges that Israeli military personnel have carried out sexual and gender-based violence, including “rape and sexualised torture”, as part of “a pattern of collective punishment”, and accuses Israeli forces of deliberately targeting some children “with the intention to kill them”.

Although other UN bodies and personnel have previously linked Israel’s actions with allegations of genocide, this is the first time that any UN body has claimed to have made a definitive judgment.

“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with the Israeli authorities at the highest echelons,” said Navi Pillay, the chair of the commission.

Within the report, it concludes that “Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide”.

Nearly 65,000 people are now believed to have died, according to figures collated by Gaza’s health ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

The commission claims that a majority of these are women, children and elderly people.

The commission says it is now looking at further evidence against other individuals accused of inciting genocide.

Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against both Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant for allegedly committing the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and also for war crimes during the Gaza conflict.

Mr Netanyahu described the warrants as “antisemitic”, while a sense of outrage echoed across much of the political spectrum in Israel.

Then US President Joe Biden called the warrants “outrageous”; his successor, Donald Trump, issued an executive order to introduce sanctions against personnel from the ICC, while inviting Netanyahu to the White House.

It is hard to believe that either Israel or the US will be any more accepting of this report. Israel has long claimed that the UN is biased against it and is more liable to criticise Israel than any other nation.

The US, which offered a rare, if mild, rebuke to Mr Netanyahu after he launched an attack on Hamas officials in Qatar last week, has since sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Jerusalem as a sign of solidarity.

The commission has asked for nations to stop supplying Israel with weapons and says states have a “legal obligation” to do everything within their power “to stop the genocide in Gaza”.

It also calls on Israel to immediately allow “unhindered” access for internationally recognised aid agencies, including the UN.

It wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), set up earlier this year by Israel with American help, in order to distribute aid, to be shut down.

Hundreds of people have been killed around GHF sites, while a separate UN-backed body has said that parts of Gaza have been designated as suffering from famine.

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Israel denies this – a senior military leader told me that “it is a pure, total lie – there is enough food for everyone”. It claims that the UN relied on faulty data and Hamas propaganda.

This latest UN report is likely to be met with similar claims.

Earlier this month, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating that Israel’s conduct passed the threshold of committing genocide.

However, a report from the British government said it had “not concluded” that Israel intended to “destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.