Brexit: New Northern Ireland Protocol deal ‘will have unanswered questions’ says former minister – as Starmer says Labour will likely back it
A former minister has played down expectations of how far a new Northern Ireland Brexit deal will go, saying there will be “unanswered questions”.
Sir Robert Buckland, former Wales secretary and justice secretary, told Sky News it “does look like the British government and the EU have agreed a deal”.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reaffirmed his party’s support for an enhanced deal, saying “we’ve been working on these problems for a very, very long time and know what some of the solutions are.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been in talks with the EU over the past few weeks to try to settle the significant issues the Northern Ireland Protocol has brought for trade in the nation after the UK left the EU three years ago.
He and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to make an announcement this afternoon if a final deal can be agreed following further talks today.
Final talks on post-Brexit deal – live politics updates
Sir Robert, who is on the Commons’ Northern Ireland affairs committee, told Sky News’ Kay Burley at Breakfast programme: “We mustn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
“I’m sure that this deal will probably have some unanswered questions and maybe not solve all the issues in one fell swoop.
“But it does sound as if it’s going to be a big step forward.”
He added that if that is the case the government will not have to take “unilateral action”, in reference to the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill introduced by Boris Johnson that rode over the deal he agreed with the EU but has been paused by Mr Sunak.
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Sir Robert Buckland: ‘We’re going to hear a lot of opinions’
Read more:
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?
How today’s Brexit talks between Sunak and von der Leyen could unfold
On why Mr Sunak appears to have got further than his three predecessors in agreeing a deal that benefits both the EU and the UK, Sir Robert said: “This prime minister has been able to create a relationship of trust.
“I think it’s about personalities, this isn’t a reflection on previous prime ministers but if you get on well with people and win their trust then I think, in all our experiences, more business can be done.
“I think the relationship with the French president has probably improved, I think there is that willingness.”
Will there be a vote on the deal?
Both Tory and Labour MPs have been given a three-line whip for today, meaning they face suspension from their parties if they do not turn up in parliament.
This has prompted speculation there will be a vote by MPs on the expected deal.
Sir Robert said there “technically” does not have to be a vote because the EU Withdrawal Act allows for deals to have a “direct effect”.
However, he said: “I think there’ll be some sort of vote.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also said he expects there will be a vote.
“He doesn’t need to take it to parliament, he doesn’t absolutely need to in terms of the constitution,” he told Sky News’ Kay Burley at Breakfast.
“But I think politically he needs to, I think most MPs, if not all MPs, and certainly voters would think it extraordinary for him to do this huge deal and not allow the electorate anticipating his representatives to have a say.”
World
Ukrainian frontline commander warns: ‘The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem’
In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanised brigade, I’m introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr “Sasha” Shyrshyn.
We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer – and where this battalion is now fighting.
The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.
They’ve been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country’s eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.
War latest: Russia ready to carry out ‘massive attack’
The captain known by his men as ‘Genius’
In the summer, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory, in Kursk
Captain Shyrshyn explains that among the many shortages the military has to deal with, the lack of infantry is becoming a critical problem.
Sasha is just 30 years old, but he is worldly-wise. He used to run an organisation helping children in the country’s east before donning his uniform and going to war.
He is famous in Ukraine and is regarded as one of the country’s top field commanders, who isn’t afraid to express his views on the war and how it’s being waged.
His nom de guerre is ‘Genius’, a nickname given to him by his men.
Captain Sasha Shyrshyn and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay
‘Don’t worry, it’s not a minefield’
Sasha invited me to see one of the American Bradley fighting vehicles his unit uses.
We walk down a muddy lane before he says it’s best to go cross-country.
“We can go that way, don’t worry it’s not a minefield,” he jokes.
He leads us across a muddy field and into a forest where the vehicle is hidden from Russian surveillance drones that try to hunt both American vehicles and commanders.
Sasha shows me a picture of the house they had been staying in only days before – it was now completely destroyed after a missile strike.
Fortunately, neither he, nor any of his men, were there at the time.
“They target commanders,” he says with a smirk.
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‘The world is scared of Russia’
It takes me a moment or two to realise we are only a few steps away from the Bradley, dug in and well hidden beneath the trees.
The disguised American Bradley vehicle hidden in the forest
Sasha tells me the Bradley is the finest vehicle he has ever used.
A vehicle so good, he says, it’s keeping the Ukrainian army going in the face of Russia’s overwhelming numbers of soldiers.
He explains: “Almost all our work on the battlefield is cooperation infantry with the Bradley. So we use it for evacuations, for moving people from one place to another, as well as for fire-covering.
“This vehicle is very safe and has very good characteristics.”
The American Bradley fighting vehicle that Ukrainian soldiers have found vital in their efforts
Billions of dollars in military aid has been given to Ukraine by the United States, and this vehicle is one of the most valuable assets the US has provided.
Ukraine is running low on men to fight, and the weaponry it has is not enough, especially if it can’t fire long-range missiles into Russia itself – which it is currently not allowed to do.
If President-elect Donald Trump cuts the supply of military aid, the Ukrainians will lose – it’s that simple.
US President-elect Donald Trump has been clear he intends to change his nation’s policy on the war in Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Sasha says: “We have a lack of weapons, we have a lack of artillery, we have a lack of infantry, and as the world doesn’t care about justice, and they don’t want to finish the war by our win, they are afraid of Russia.
“I’m sorry but they’re scared, they’re scared, and it’s not the right way.”
Like pretty much everyone in Ukraine, Sasha is waiting to see what the US election result will mean for his country.
He is sceptical about a deal with Russia.
“Our enemy only understands the language of power. And you cannot finish the war in 24 hours, or during the year without hard decisions, without a fight, so it’s impossible. It’s just talking without results,” he tells me.
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‘Losing will be not only our problem’
These men expect the fierce battles inside Kursk to intensify in the coming days.
Indeed, alongside the main supply route into Kursk, workers are already building new defensive positions – unfurling miles of razor wire and digging bunkers for the Ukrainian army if it finds itself in retreat.
Barbed wire rolled out in the Sumy region ahead of expected fighting
Tank traps in the Sumy region
Sasha and his men are realistic about support fatigue from the outside world but will keep fighting to the last if they have to.
“I understand this is only our problem, it’s only our issue, and we have to fight this battle, like we have to defend ourselves, it’s our responsibility,” Sasha said.
But he points out everyone should realise just how critical this moment in time is.
“If we look at it widely, we have to understand that us losing will be not only our problem, but it will be for all the world.”
Stuart Ramsay reports from northeastern Ukraine with camera operator Toby Nash, and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Azad Safarov, and Nick Davenport.
A weather warning has been issued for parts of Spain, as the country counts the cost of recent flooding.
The orange warnings are in place for parts of southwestern Spain – the area around Seville down towards Gibraltar.
Up to 8cm (3ins) of rain could fall within 12 hours, but the weekend looks much more settled in the country.
The latest warnings come just two weeks after flash flooding in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people.
Malaga saw 14.2cm (5.6ins) of rainfall on Wednesday – Spain’s highest of the day – most of which fell in six hours.
All train services were halted in Malaga. Some flights have now resumed after the initial disruption.
Pic: Jamie Marchant
Emergency services in the province have moved 3,000 people from homes at risk of flooding close to the Guadalhorce River in the west of the city.
Jamie Marchant, 29, from Caerphilly in South Wales travelled to Malaga last Wednesday.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
He told Sky News that “debris” had been left behind by the recent rainfall in the region.
“Everyone is pitching in to clean up and some shops are opening as usual,” he added.
Orange warnings for the Valencia region in eastern Spain expired earlier on Thursday.
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The adverse weather could lead to total insured losses of more than €4bn (£3.33bn), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.
Much of the claims are expected to be covered by the Spanish government’s insurance pool, the agency said, but insurance premiums are likely to increase.
World
Man suspected of supplying small boats for Channel migrant crossings arrested at Amsterdam airport
A man accused of being a major supplier of the boats and engines used by cross-Channel people smugglers to bring migrants to the UK has been arrested.
The Turkish national, 44, was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday and faces extradition to Belgium to face human smuggling charges, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
He is suspected of supplying the engines and boats used by traffickers to bring migrants across the Channel.
The equipment was shipped from Turkey and stored in Germany before being brought to northern France when needed.
NCA director general Rob Jones hailed the arrest as an “important milestone” in one of its most “significant investigations into organised immigration crime”.
“We suspect that this individual is a major supplier of boats and engines to the smugglers operating in Belgium and northern France,” he said.
“The types of vessels and engines we see used in making these crossings are highly dangerous and completely unfit for open water.
“At least 50 people are known to have died this year as a result. There is no legitimate use for them.”
More than 32,000 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the arrest as a “significant piece of the jigsaw” in tackling Channel crossings, but added: “I’m not pretending it’s the silver bullet.”
He vowed the government would “treat people smugglers like terrorists” as he announced an extra £75m for his border security command during a speech at the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow last week.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We will relentlessly pursue the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings that undermine our border security and put lives at risk.
“This major investigation shows how important it is for our crime fighting agencies to be working hand in glove with our international partners to get results.”
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The NCA said it is leading around 70 ongoing investigations into networks or people “in the top tier” of organised immigration crime or people trafficking and stressed the importance of working with its counterparts in Europe.
A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office of West Flanders said: “International cooperation is crucial in the fight against human smuggling, and the arrest of this suspect through close cooperation with our UK and Dutch partners demonstrates our ongoing commitment to partnership working.
“Human smuggling criminals do not respect national borders, and we will relentlessly pursue these criminals through working internationally.”
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