Brexit: Rishi Sunak suggests MPs will get vote on Northern Ireland deal
Rishi Sunak has indicated that he would put any new Brexit deal on Northern Ireland to a vote, in a move that risks a showdown with Eurosceptics on the Tory benches.
The prime minister said parliament will get to “express its view” following a grilling from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on what the settlement with Brussels might look like, and whether MPs will have a say on it.
Mr Sunak promised to be “resolute” in defending Northern Ireland as he seeks a deal to rewrite the terms of its post-Brexit arrangements.
He said he was a “Conservative, a Brexiteer and a unionist”, and any agreement over changes to arrangements of the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol must tick those three boxes.
Politics live: Sunak facing Starmer at PMQs as Brexit tensions bubble
However, he would not say if the deal he is discussing would remove the application of EU rules in the region or the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – a key sticking point for many Tories and DUP politicians.
Sir Keir said despite cheers from Conservative MPs during PMQS “the prime minister is pulling the wool over their eyes”.
He added: “It’s the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Politics in Northern Ireland is built on trust, not telling people what they want to hear.”
He asked: “Can the prime minister confirm that whatever deal he brings back – this House will get a vote on it?“
Mr Sunak replied “of course parliament will express its view” – which Sir Keir said he took to mean there will be a vote.
However, when asked to confirm if that was the case, the prime minister’s official spokesman cautioned that they would “not get into hypotheticals” adding: “There is nothing to vote on yet, we don’t have a deal.”
Sir Keir once again offered to give his party’s support to a Brexit deal, telling MPs: “Everyone knows the basis of this deal has been agreed for weeks but it’s the same old story: the country has to wait while he plucks up the courage to take on the malcontents, the reckless, the wreckers on his own benches.
“But I’m here to tell him that he doesn’t need to worry about that because we will put country before party and ensure the Labour votes to get it through.
“He should accept our offer, ignore the howls of indignation from those on his side, who will never take ‘yes’ for an answer. Why doesn’t he just get on with it?”
Mr Sunak replied: “What I am doing is talking and listening to the people of Northern Ireland. That is the right thing to do.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer quizzed Mr Sunak over the ongoing talks
Read more:
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?
What is the Brexit deal being discussed between UK and EU?
PM holds ‘intensive talks’ with EU
The protocol was put in place as part of Boris Johnson’s “oven-ready” Brexit deal to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, which all sides agreed was necessary to preserve peace.
But unionists are unhappy about the economic barriers it has created on trade being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, with a customs border effectively imposed in the Irish Sea – something the former prime minister promised would not happen
There is also anger over the so-called “democratic deficit” caused by Northern Ireland still being subject to some EU rules so that goods can move freely into the Republic of Ireland – which unionists and Tory MPs see as an erosion of the UK’s sovereignty and incompatible with the aims of Brexit.
The PM’s spokesman said Mr Sunak had engaged in “intensive talks” with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen last night as he battles to reach a new deal, and that the discussions so far have been “very constructive”.
The prime minister is under pressure to meet the “seven tests” of Belfast’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) if he wants power-sharing in Northern Ireland to be restored – after they pulled out of the arrangement early last year in protest at the protocol.
Read More:
Break-up of UK ‘at stake’ if protocol not fixed, warns DUP
Brexit deal ‘not close’: Senior Tory dampens down prospect of resolution
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the party’s leader, said during PMQs the protocol must be “replaced with arrangements that are acceptable and restore our place in the UK and its internal market”.
Mr Sunak insisted he heard “loud and clear” what the party wants and “addressing the democratic deficit is an essential part of the negotiations”.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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