Rishi Sunak promises ‘beginning of a new chapter’ as he unveils ‘Windsor Framework’ deal on Brexit
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has outlined details of the “new Windsor Framework” agreed with the European Union to overcome trade barriers in Northern Ireland following Brexit.
The prime minister said the agreement was a “historic” and a “decisive breakthrough” that “delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland”.
The new deal includes:
- Green and red lane trade routes – where goods staying in the UK will use a green lane to avoid customs bureaucracy, while goods moving to the EU will use a red lane
- UK VAT and excise changes will apply in Northern Ireland – British products such as food and drink, trees, plants and seed potatoes will be available in Northern Ireland and pet travel requirements have been removed
- A “landmark” settlement on medicines so drugs approved for use by the UK’s medicines regulator will be automatically available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland
- A new “Stormont brake” – to safeguard sovereignty in Northern Ireland. Stormont can stop changes in EU goods laws from applying in Northern Ireland. If the brake is pulled, the UK government will have a veto that will apply permanently
Follow live updates on new post-Brexit deal
For weeks, there has been speculation over whether a new deal could be thrashed out three years after Brexit took place as Mr Sunak entered talks with the EU.
But terms of the deal were revealed at a news conference following final talks between Mr Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor this lunchtime.
Mr Sunak said the agreement “marks a turning point for the people of Northern Ireland” that “fixes the practical problems they face” yet “preserves the balance of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement”.
On the changes to customs and VAT rules, Mr Sunak said: “This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea.”
Ms von der Leyen said the 27-page, 13,031-word framework “will allow us to begin a new chapter” and it “provides for long-lasting solutions that both of us are confident will work for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland”.
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‘We knew deal would not be easy’
The two leaders were glowing in their respect for each other, with Ms von der Leyen calling the PM “dear Rishi” a few times and said they were “honest with each other about the difficulties in our bilateral relationship and it was vital to put that on the right footing”.
Mr Sunak said: “The United Kingdom and European Union may have had our differences in the past, but we are allies, trading partners and friends.
“Something that we’ve seen clearly the past year as we joined with others to support Ukraine. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.”
Next hurdle: Tory Brexiteers and DUP
Mr Sunak put the deal – the biggest move of his premiership – to his cabinet on Monday afternoon during a virtual meeting but a vote by MPs in the Commons is not expected until possibly next week.
Following speculation there may not be a vote on the deal by MPs, Mr Sunak confirmed parliament will have a vote “at the appropriate time”.
On whether Tory Brexiteers and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – who has refused to form an executive in Stormont in protest of the former protocol – may try to block the deal, Mr Sunak said it is “not about politicians” and is about “what’s best” for the people of Northern Ireland.
Earlier in the day, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Mr Sunak of a possible Tory revolt if the DUP did not support the deal.
The two sides appeared cordial as they completed the deal’s details. Pic: Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said in a statement that the agreement showed “significant progress has been secured across a number of areas”, but there remained “key issues of concern”, adding: “There can be no disguising the fact that in some sectors of our economy EU law remains applicable in Northern Ireland.”
He said his party would “study the detail” of the framework and “where necessary we stand ready to engage with the government in order to seek further clarification, re-working or change as required”.
However, Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill said there should now be no more delays to the restoration of the Stormont institutions.
“I was always very clear that the protections that were secured within the protocol were very necessary, they remain necessary,” she told Sky News.
“Protecting those things that were working and smoothing out the things that needed to be fixed, that is the position we are standing in this evening.
“All different parties need to sit down at the executive table taking the decisions which impact on people’s lives, that is where we should be.”
Jeffrey Donaldson and Michelle O’Neill have both given their responses to the new deal
Ireland’s deputy leader and foreign affairs minister Michael Martin welcomed the deal, saying he believes unionists will see it as a “genuine response” to their concerns.
Mr Sunak will meet the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs on Tuesday evening to try to persuade them to back the deal.
But first he will make a statement on the deal to MPs in the House of Commons on Monday evening.
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There has been early support from Brexiteer and Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, who told Sky News the framework “restores Northern Ireland’s place in the union”.
He added: “I think this is a win and I think it’s very important in politics to know when you’ve had a win-win solution for all sides – bank it and move forwards… this is a time to bank what is a radical improvement for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Asked if they were happy with the deal on leaving Number 10 just after the virtual cabinet meeting, Home Secretary Suella Braverman smiled and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab gave a thumbs up.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said an agreement was “long overdue” and was “beyond party politics” as he confirmed Labour will support the deal.
Why was a new deal needed?
The deal follows frustrations around the Northern Ireland Protocol, which aimed to prevent creating a hard border on the island of Ireland – but effectively placed a border in the Irish Sea.
This was something former prime minister Boris Johnson promised would not happen when he signed off on the original deal with the EU.
The DUP has refused to form an executive at Stormont until the protocol is ditched, meaning the Assembly has not been functioning for months.
Some businesses have ceased trading due to the extra cost and bureaucracy created by goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK having to be checked over concerns they could end up going into the EU over the border in Ireland.
Mr Johnson introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to override that part of the Brexit deal but this caused tension with the EU, who said the move risked breaching an international treaty.
King Charles met Ursula von der Leyen after the press conference
The ex-prime minister told Sky News last week that continuing with the bill was the “best way forward”.
But the bill’s passage through parliament was paused by Mr Sunak and will now be dropped, in return for the EU dropping legal proceedings against the UK.
Ms Von der Leyen headed off to meet King Charles for tea at Windsor Castle after she and the PM announced the deal.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
Read more:
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
Shouts of ‘genocide’ in Commons
Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter
Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
Read more:
Why Trump will worry about attacker being glorified
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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’
During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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