Brexit: Breakup of UK ‘at stake’ if Northern Ireland Protocol deal isn’t reached

Published

3 years ago

February 21, 2023

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The breakup of the UK is “at stake” if a new deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland is not reached, a senior DUP politician warned.

Sammy Wilson MP said his party will continue with its protest at Stormont if EU rules aren’t removed in the region – saying this threatens Northern Ireland’s place in the union.

This has been a key sticking point for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is battling to reach a new settlement with Brussels to fix issues with the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.

The mechanism was agreed as part of the Brexit deal to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland – which all parties agreed was necessary to preserve peace.

But because the Republic is in the EU, it means traders in Northern Ireland have to comply with single market rules, creating friction on the flow of goods between the region and the rest of the UK.

Mr Wilson told Sky News the DUP wants Northern Ireland to be “treated in the exactly the same way as the rest of the United Kingdom. In other words, that the laws which apply in Northern Ireland are UK laws, not EU laws”.

He added: “Essentially if a deal is agreed which still keeps us within the EU Single Market, as ministers in the Northern Ireland Assembly we would be required by law to implement that deal.

“And we’re not going to do that because we believe that such an arrangement is designed to take us out of the United Kingdom and indeed would take us out of the United Kingdom, because increasingly we would have to agree EU laws which diverge from UK laws and in doing so would separate our own country from the rest of the United Kingdom.”

Mr Wilson said the prime minister has a choice whether to “protect the union or the European Union”.

“It’s unreasonable to ask unionists to participate in an arrangement which is designed for the break-up of the union, and that’s what’s at stake here. And that’s why this is a historic moment for the prime minister,” he said.

Asked if he thought there would be a deal this week, as reports have suggested, he said: “No I don’t. He (Mr Sunak) realises that there are barriers and hills to climb. He knows the kind of issues that have to be dealt with. I hope he does go into negotiations with a full understanding of what is required.”

No ‘final deal’ yet

Downing Street has kept quiet about the details of what could be in the new deal.

On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said negotiations were continuing to resolve the outstanding issues and “you will hear our position should a deal be agreed”.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the European Commission’s Maros Sefcovic will hold talks by video link on Monday afternoon.

The PM’s spokesman insisted there was not yet a “final deal” – and refused to say whether MPs will get to vote on it should there be one.

It comes amid mounting concerns a Tory civil war will stop an agreement getting over the line.

Pressure mounts on Sunak

Veteran Tory Eurosceptic Sir Bernard Jenkin said that any deal which did not lead to a return to powersharing at the Stormont Assembly by the DUP – which walked out in protest at the protocol early last year – would be “completely disastrous”.

However, ex-justice secretary and Brexit critic David Gauke said the DUP “cannot accept any realistically negotiable outcome and nor can some Tory MPs because they’re purists or opportunists”.

“He has to do a deal without them,” he tweeted.

It is understood Mr Sunak’s officials held talks with their Brussels counterparts on Sunday on how to give local politicians a greater say in the application of EU law in the region, addressing what unionists call the “democratic deficit”.

While it is thought 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 part of the protocol – namely that Northern Ireland traders can sell freely into the European single market – is dependent on the operation of EU rules in the region.

What is the Brexit deal being discussed between UK and EU?

The talks that are ongoing are about part of the existing Brexit deal that relates to Northern Ireland.

Dubbed the “Northern Ireland Protocol”, it was agreed with the EU by Boris Johnson in 2020 – alongside the wider trade and cooperation treaty.

The point of it is to avoid a hard physical border on the island of Ireland – the only place where there is a land frontier between the UK and EU.

All parties agreed this was necessary to preserve peace on the island, and the protocol does this by placing Northern Ireland in a far tighter relationship with the EU, compared with the rest of the UK (because the Republic of Ireland is in the EU).

This led to goods travelling into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK being subject to EU import checks – effectively turning the Irish Sea into a trade border, which former prime minister Boris Johnson promised would not happen.

Unionists say this puts Northern Ireland at an economic disadvantage while threatening its place in the UK – and are refusing to cooperate with forming a powersharing government as a result.

There’s also concern over a so-called “democratic deficit” whereby Northern Ireland takes on rules from Brussels that it has no say over.

The role played by the European Court of Justice is a big sticking point: Because Northern Ireland is still subject to EU rules, Brussels believes its court should have a heavy involvement in resolving disputes.

But the DUP and some Conservative MPs see this as an erosion of the UK’s sovereignty and incompatible with the aims of Brexit.

Downing Street has kept quiet about the details of what could be in the new deal – but it is expected to include measures that reduce red tape on goods travelling to Northern Ireland and the UK, as well as some sort of compromise on the role of the ECJ.

There may be a “green lane” and “red lane” system to separate goods destined for Northern Ireland from those at risk of being transported to the Republic and on to the EU, which should reduce the need for physical checks and paperwork.

There could potentially be a mechanism whereby the ECJ can only decide on a dispute after a referral from a separate arbitration panel or a Northern Irish court.

The big unknown is whether the DUP will support the deal. The party has come up with seven “tests” that it will apply to any deal when deciding whether to back it, including no checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and no border in the Irish Sea.

If they don’t back a deal and continue their protest at Stormont – then a government in Northern Ireland can’t be formed.

That’s because the DUP is one of two parties that shares power in the devolved government in Northern Ireland – an arrangement made under the Good Friday Agreement which ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Because the DUP are boycotting the Northern Ireland Assembly, this has meant the democratic institutions that are supposed to be running public services in Northern Ireland and representing voters haven’t been functioning properly for more than a year.

Pressure on Mr Sunak is mounting after his predecessor-but-one made a weekend intervention calling for him to take a tougher line with the EU.

A source close to Mr Johnson said his view was that “it would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill” – which would empower the UK to scrap parts of the treaty without the EU’s permission.

A senior government official indicated that a successful outcome of the negotiations would mean the controversial legislation – tabled at Westminster under Mr Johnson’s leadership but paused when Mr Sunak entered No 10 – would no longer be needed.

But some Tories quickly sided with the former prime minister, with Conservative former cabinet minister Simon Clarke and Lord Frost – who negotiated Mr Johnson’s original Brexit deal – urging the government to push ahead with the protocol bill.

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt also said Mr Johnson’s warning was “not entirely unhelpful”, while Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on Monday that the legislation was “one of the biggest tools” at the government’s disposal for “solving” the issues in the Irish Sea.

Labour will vote with government on protocol

On Monday Sir Keir Starmer repeated that the opposition would back the government to get any deal through.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Thurrock in Essex, the Labour leader said: “There is a window of opportunity to move forward…the question now is whether the prime minister is strong enough to get it through his own backbenches.

“What I have said on Northern Ireland, the national interest comes first. So we will put party politics to one side. We will vote with the government and so the prime minister doesn’t have to rely on his backbenches.”

World

Police charge alleged Bondi Beach attacker – as funerals begin for victims

Published

9 hours ago

December 17, 2025

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Police charge alleged Bondi Beach attacker - as funerals begin for victims

One of the alleged gunmen in the killing of 15 people on Bondi Beach has been charged.

Naveed Akram, 24, faces 59 counts, including 15 of murder and a terror charge.

The other alleged attacker, his 50-year-old father Sajid, died at the scene in Sydney.

The charges came as people gathered for funerals three days after Sunday’s terror attack shocked Australia and intensified concerns about rising antisemitism.

Some 22 victims remain in hospital following the shooting, carried out at an event marking the start of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.

THE CONFIRMED VICTIMS

Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old British-born rabbi
Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, secretary of a local Jewish group
Matilda, a 10-year-old girl whose family moved to Australia from Ukraine
Dan Elkayam, a French citizen
Alexander Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor
Peter Meagher, a retired policeman
Reuven Morrison, a businessman
Tibor Weitzen, 78
Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old Slovakian woman
Boris and Sofia Gurman, a Russian-Jewish couple who were killed trying to confront one of the gunmen
Reuven Morrison, 62, who was also shot dead when trying to intervene, according to CBS who spoke to his daughter

At the first of the funerals, relatives mourned the death of British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old father of five, who organised the Chanukah by the Sea event.

Often speaking through tears, his father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, expressed his “biggest regret” that he “could have done more” to tell him “how much we love him”.

“I hope he knew that. I’m sure he knew it,” he added. “But I think it should’ve been said more often.”

The father of 10-year-old victim Matilda, whose surname has been withheld at her family’s request, spoke at a vigil on Tuesday night.

Local media reported him as saying: “We came here from Ukraine… and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist.

“So just remember the name, remember her.”

Read more: Who were the suspected gunmen?

Police have said the two alleged gunmen – who were shot by officers – were motivated by Islamic State ideology.

A recent trip to the Philippines is under investigation. The older Akram used an Indian passport to travel, while his son used an Australian one.

The Akrams stayed at the GV Hotel in Davao from 1 November to 28 November, according to a source, who said police had visited on Wednesday.

The pair are said to have only left their rooms for meals and no one was seen visiting them.

Davao is in an area associated with Islamic extremism but a spokesman for the president of the Philippines said he rejected the claim the country is an “ISIS training hotspot”.

New South Wales to debate gun reforms

The Australian government and intelligence services have come under pressure because the alleged attackers were legally able to acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to toughen the country’s gun laws after its deadliest mass shooting in three decades, and the state parliament in New South Wales will reconvene next week to discuss reforms.

They include capping the number of guns allowed by a single person and making some shotguns harder to access.

State premier Chris Minns told a news conference: “We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge.

“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together.

“We need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”

Mr Albanese has vowed to work with the Jewish community to “stamp out and eradicate antisemitism”. The prime minister has been accused of not doing enough to prevent its spread since the war in Gaza began two years ago.

Fellow world leaders have expressed their shock and anguish since the attack, including British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who hosted a Hanukkah event at Downing Street on Tuesday.

And speaking at the White House last night, US President Donald Trump said: “We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded.”

World

The untrained mercenaries being tricked into fighting Russia’s war in Ukraine

Published

21 hours ago

December 17, 2025

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The untrained mercenaries being tricked into fighting Russia's war in Ukraine

A South African man, with eyes darkened by sleepless nights, tells us his older brother was lured into fighting for Russia on the frontline in Ukraine’s raging Donbas region.

“To them, it’s a suicide mission because they have never been trained for the military. They don’t have military training – they don’t have military experience,” says Bongani, whose name we have changed for his safety.

In the hidden back garden of a modest hotel in KwaZulu-Natal province, he continues: “They don’t have experience of any war. They are just bodyguards who want to get a job and provide for their families. That’s all.”

Bongani says his brother travelled to Russia on a flight via Dubai after being told he would be receiving bodyguard training along with at least 16 other South African men. After signing a contract in Russian, their fate was sealed.

“The problems started when they were moved from Russia to Ukraine, and they asked them: ‘Guys – where are we going now because we are here for training?’

“And then the Russians said: ‘Training for what? We don’t know anything about training – what we know is that you’ve signed the contract. You are under our command now – under the Russian army.'”

How is this happening?

Sky News has seen harrowing SOS video messages from South African men who describe entrapment and deployment to the frontline in Ukraine.

In one video, a man in military fatigues details the moment they signed their contracts. He claims Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, encouraged them to sign away their lives.

“We refused to sign the contract forms because it was written in Russia, which we didn’t understand. We asked them for a translator – someone who can translate the language. They said there was no network,” he says in fluent English.

“That is when Duduzile came with a guy by the name of Khosa. She said we must sign the contract because it is the same thing they did. Duduzile said she is doing the same course we are doing, the same training, and that unfortunately she won’t be with us because she is training somewhere else.”

“Yes, we agreed. We did sign the forms because we trust the lady, Duduzile.”

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of trafficking South African men – including eight of her own relatives – for mercenary recruitment by her half-sister Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, who has filed police charges against her.

She denies the allegations and says she was a victim of deception, misrepresentation, and manipulation.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) say they are currently investigating the charges. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has resigned as a member of parliament and has not responded to our request for comment.

Five hours away in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province, we watched as another case of suspected mercenary recruitment played out in a South African magistrate’s court.

Five suspects were ushered out into a crowded courtroom in Kempton Park after being arrested on their way out of Johannesburg’s Oliver R Tambo airport following a tip-off to the police that they were allegedly travelling to Russia via the United Arab Emirates.

The line-up is sullen as the three young men on one end of the stand look down at their hands. The youngest is only 21 years old.

At the other end of the stand is a 39-year-old woman called Patricia Mantuala, who stands accused of recruiting them. The five suspects were eventually granted bail by the court after a postponed hearing.

Colonel Katlego Mogale, a spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the HAWKS, told Sky News and other journalists in a news conference that they are not ruling out the possibility that more suspects will be arrested.

Amid signs of a growing recruitment drive, the families of those who say they are trapped fighting for Russia in Ukraine are advocating for their loved ones to return home – against all odds.

“You are dealing with people who are well known in South Africa and in South Africa nobody’s safe and we may never know what’s going to happen next to us,” says Bongani.

“What’s going to happen to our family?”

World

Imran Khan’s sons ‘fear they may never see him again’ as former Pakistan PM ‘held in death cell’

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

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Imran Khan's sons 'fear they may never see him again' as former Pakistan PM 'held in death cell'

The sons of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have said they fear they might never see their father again as he is being “psychologically tortured” in a “death cell”.

Speaking to Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan said they had not spoken to their father, who has been in prison since August 2023, for months.

Kasim described the conditions the former Pakistani leader has been kept, saying: “He’s been in a solitary confinement cell for over two years where he’s had filthy water, he is around inmates who are dying of hepatitis, the conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact.”

He continued: “It’s getting harder to see a route out at this point. We’re trying to have faith. But at the same time, right now, the conditions are getting worse.

“It’s very hard to see a way out… We’re now worried we might never see him again.”

Kasim said his father was being subjected to “psychological torture tactics” as even the prison guards weren’t allowed to communicate with the former Pakistani leader, who led the country between 2018 and 2022.

Sulaiman said his father’s cell, where he allegedly spends 23 hours a day, has been described as a “death cell”.

He said an army spokesperson announced on Friday that Imran Khan, who has in the past been shot three times, was now officially in full isolation.

He added that Imran Khan was being kept in “completely substandard conditions that don’t meet international law for any sort of prisoner”.

The brothers’ words echo what one of Khan’s sisters reported after being allowed to meet the former cricketer in prison at the start of the month.

Uzma Khanum said at the time that Khan was facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.

The former leader was jailed after being convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven following his ousting in a 2022 parliamentary vote.

Before launching his political career, Imran Khan was best known as a star of international cricket and for leading Pakistan to Cricket World Cup victory in 1992.

Kasim said his father would “never take a deal and leave all of his other party members in jail to die and fester in these jails…

“Instead he stays in those conditions, happy to rot and it means that he can move towards his goal of ridding Pakistan of corruption, a goal that he has stated to us a million times.”

Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani government spokesperson, will be speaking to Yalda Hakim tonight on Sky News from 9pm.