Brexit: Rishi Sunak says Northern Ireland in ‘unbelievably special position’ because of access to EU single market
Rishi Sunak has said his new post-Brexit deal puts Northern Ireland in an “unbelievably special position” because it gives it access to both the UK and European Union markets.
The prime minister said implementing the newly negotiated Windsor Framework would create “the world’s most exciting economic zone” with international companies “queuing up to invest” in the region.
“If we get this right, if we get this framework implemented, if we get the Executive back up and running here, Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position – unique position in the entire world, European continent – in having privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous… but also the European Union single market,” he said on a visit to Lisburn’s Coca-Cola factory.
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“Nobody else has that. No one. Only you guys: only here, and that is the prize.”
The comments depart from the government’s previous position of avoiding any overt recognition of the benefits of a closer trading partnership with the EU.
The whole of the UK had access to the single market before Brexit, which Mr Sunak voted for.
Critics were quick to point this out, with Naomi Long, the leader of Belfast’s Alliance party, tweeting: “Nobody else has that.” Well, you did, actually. Plus, the opt outs. But you binned it for Brexit. Go figure…”
In his pitch to workers about the benefits of his deal, the prime minister added: “I can tell you, when I go around the world and talk to businesses, they know that – they’re like: ‘That’s interesting. If you guys get this sorted, then we want to invest in Northern Ireland, because nowhere else does that exist.’
“That’s like the world’s most exciting economic zone.”
He said the government aims to work with international companies to help them “take advantage of Northern Ireland’s very special position”.
“And they are queuing up to do so, particularly from the US actually.”
Government has changed its tune about benefits of closer EU trading ties
A striking moment from the Q&A was Rishi Sunak’s enthusiastic celebration of Northern Ireland having access to both UK markets and the EU, which he described as “an unbelievably special position”.
This is a significant departure from the government’s previous position – any overt recognition of the benefits of a closer trading partnership with the EU has always been anathema to Brexiteers and steadfastly avoided.
While many business leaders in Northern Ireland previously supported the Northern Ireland Protocol because of the dual access they enjoyed as a result, with the de facto border in the Irish Sea so unpalatable to unionists leaders in Westminster have not wanted to dwell on the benefits of a closer relationship with the EU.
But today Mr Sunak has been waxing lyrical about the “prize” enjoyed by Northern Ireland under the framework and “the world’s most exciting economic zone”.
And the PM is holding out the prospect of huge economic investment to businesses there as a result, promising that the government will help companies take advantage of this situation.
He claims organisations in the US are “queueing up” to get involved. This argument is much more of a carrot than a stick approach – a mark of the PM’s confidence (unsurprisingly for a former chancellor) in the importance of economic incentives.
PM ‘not endorsing single market’
Speaking after the visit, Downing Street stressed the comments should not be seen as the prime minister endorsing EU single market benefits for the whole of the UK.
The PM’s spokesman said the British people made their decision in 2016 in the Brexit referendum but Northern Ireland needed access to both markets because of its unique situation.
“With regards to Northern Ireland, it is simply a fact that because of our respect for the Good Friday Agreement and the central importance; Northern Ireland’s unique position means it needs to have access to both markets, not least to avoid a border on the island of Ireland, which nobody wants to see.
“That puts it in a unique position and what the framework does is finally cement those capabilities.”
Boris Johnson’s “oven ready” Brexit deal took the UK out of the single market but kept Northern Ireland closely aligned to it in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
However, this effectively placed a customs border in the Irish Sea, with extra checks required on goods crossing from Great Britain into Northern Ireland – something the former PM promised would not happen.
Mr Sunak has spent months trying to negotiate new terms to replace the contentious Northern Ireland protocol and on Monday made a “historic breakthrough” as he signed a new deal with the EU on the post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The Windsor Framework has eased checks on goods from the UK while maintaining free flowing trade on the island of Ireland.
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What is the Windsor Framework?
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The agreement does mean Northern Ireland must continue following Brussels’ trade rules, but the PM has negotiated a ‘Stormont brake’ which allows the devolved government to block any EU law changes from coming into force in the region.
Mr Sunak said he believed “hand on heart” that it addressed the concerns expressed about the current set up, which triggered the collapse of power-sharing in Stormont.
Northern Ireland has been without an Executive Assembly since early last year, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pulled out of Stormont in protest at the Protocol.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said “there remain key issues of concern” regarding the new deal despite “significant progress” made.
However he insisted his party would be “reasonable” as it spends the next few days studying the framework.
The PM is also facing the challenge of winning over Tory Eurosceptics and his predecessor Mr Johnson, who is yet to give a verdict on the Windsor Framework.
Mr Sunak indicated he had discussed the deal with Mr Johnson, telling the BBC earlier on Tuesday “of course I speak to the former prime minister”.
Tory Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG) are to meet later today and will convene MP Sir Bill Cash’s so-called “star chamber” of lawyers to scrutinise the deal before deciding whether to back it.
Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) went from a jihadist movement once aligned to al Qaeda to forming the official government of Syria.
It was a monumental transformation for them, their country and the wider Middle East.
But potentially too for British people who went to Syria – and who were stripped of their citizenship as a result, on the grounds of national security.
Tauqir Sharif, better known as Tox, went to Syria in 2012 as an aid worker. He was accused of being part of a group affiliated with al Qaeda, which he denies, and the then-home secretary Amber Rudd deprived him of his British citizenship in 2017.
“As of now, I am deprived of my UK citizenship but I’m not a convicted terrorist – and the reason for that is because we refused, we boycotted, the SIAC [Special Immigration Appeals Commission] secret courts, which don’t allow you to see any of the evidence presented against you,” he said.
“And one of the things that I always called for was, look, put me in front of a jury, let’s have an open hearing.”
Tox went to Syria in 2012
HTS is still a proscribed terrorist organisation but the British government has now established relations with it.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to Damascus to meet the jihadist-turned-Syrian interim president – the man who swapped his nom de guerre of al Jolani for Ahmed al Sharaa.
David Lammy shakes hands with Ahmed al Sharaa in Damascus. Pic: X / @DavidLammy
If the UK government takes HTS off the terror list, what does that mean for those who lost their citizenship after being accused of being part of it?
People who joined HTS are only a subset among the scores of people who have had their citizenship revoked – a tool the UK government has been quick to use.
According to a report by the Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee, the UK “uses deprivation of citizenship orders more than almost any country in the world”.
The peak of that was in 2017, and mainly in relation to Syria – especially in the case of people joining Islamic State, perhaps most famously Shamima Begum.
Shamima Begum was stripped of her British citizenship on national security grounds
And because people cannot be made entirely stateless, and need to have a second nationality, or be potentially eligible for one, there are worries of racism in who the orders apply to.
Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh offer dual nationality, whereas other nations do not. In 2022, the Institute of Race Relations said “the vast majority of those deprived are Muslim men with South Asian or Middle Eastern/North African heritage”.
Legal grey areas
Sky News submitted Freedom of Information requests to the Home Office asking for a breakdown of second nationalities of those deprived of citizenship, but was refused twice on national security grounds.
The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, told Sky News there are issues around transparency.
“I do think there is a problem when you have people whose relationship with the country that they’re left with is really technical and they may never have realised that they had that citizenship before and may never gone to that country,” he said.
“Me and my predecessors have all said, owing to how frequently this power is used, it should be something that the independent reviewer should have the power to review. I asked, my predecessor asked, we’ve both been told no, so I agree there’s a lack of transparency.”
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No automatic reversal
Even if the government does remove HTS from the terror list, it would not automatically invalidate decisions to deprive people of their citizenship.
Macer Gifford fought with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a foreign volunteer. Pic: AP
Macer Gifford gave up a career as a banker in London to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a foreign volunteer between 2015 and 2017.
He told Sky News that decisions “made years ago in the interest of the British public have to remain”.
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“We can’t sort of go through previous cases nitpicking through it, wasting time and money to bring it up to date,” he added.
“We can’t be naive because the intent to go out, the decision to go in itself is a huge decision for them. So it shows commitment when they’re there, they then, if they take an active participation in the organisations that they’ve been accused of joining, again, that involves training and perseverance and dedication to the cause.”
But those born and raised in Britain, who joined the same cause, and lost their citizenship as a result, might reasonably ask why that should remain the case.
Criminals face being banned from pubs, sports grounds and concerts under new government plans to give judges powers to pass tougher community sentences.
The new measures, which would apply to people in England and Wales, “should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay”, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
Offenders’ freedom could also be curtailed with limits on driving, travel bans and restriction zones confining them to specific areas, the government said.
Similar measures could also apply to prisoners let out on licence, while drug testing would be expanded to include all those released, rather than just those with a history of substance misuse.
While judges are currently able to impose limited bans for specific crimes, such as football bans for crimes committed inside a stadium on match day, the new measures would allow for such bans to be handed down for any offence.
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Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
The justice secretary said: “When criminals break society’s rules, they must be punished.
“Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there too.
“These new punishments should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay.
“Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The proposals are part of the Labour government’s efforts to tackle overcrowding in prisons.
Back in June, it emerged that prisoners were to be transferred to lower security jails in an effort to ease overcrowding, as part of a new measure quietly unveiled by the government.
Sky News reported earlier this month how the prison system was close to collapse on a number of occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, according to an independent review by former chief inspector of prisons, Dame Anne Owers.
The report said there was a systemic problem which has led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years.
Protesters have gathered across the country as groups demonstrated against asylum seeker housing and were met by anti-racism campaigners.
Demonstrations under the Abolish Asylum System slogan were held in England, Scotland and Wales, including in Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Aberdeen, Mold, Perth, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley and Canary Wharf.
Counter-protests were also organised by campaign group Stand Up to Racism.
Police officers scuffle with demonstrators during protests at Castle Park in Bristol. Pic: PA
In Bristol, mounted police separated the two groups in the Castle Park, with officers scuffling with protesters.
Police kept around 200 anti-immigration protesters draped in English flags away from roughly 50 Stand Up to Racism protesters in Horley, Surrey.
People take part in a protest outside the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Horley, Surrey. Pic: PA
One man, wearing a West Ham United football shirt, was held by police as he yelled: “You’re not welcome here, you’re not welcome here, you’re not welcome here” at anti-racism protesters.
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Anti-immigration protesters also chanted: “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy Robinson” in support of the far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
A confrontation between a protester and a counter-protester outside the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Horley, Surrey. Pic: PA
The anti-racism protesters chanted “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here” and held signs calling for solidarity and to “stop deportations”.
The Stand Up to Racism protesters were shepherded into a smaller area as they continued to chant: “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here”, which was met with “No they’re f****** not” from the other side of the street.
People inside the hotel look at protesters outside the Radisson Hotel in Perth. Pic: PA
In Perth, protesters gathered outside the Radisson Hotel.
The anti-migration protesters held up signs with slogans such as “Perth is full – empty the hotels” and “get them out”.
People take part in a counter-protest outside the Radisson Hotel in Perth. Pic: PA
Stand Up to Racism Scotland said it had achieved “victory” in Perth, with more than 200 gathering to oppose the Abolish Asylum System demonstration.
In Liverpool, a dispersal order was issued to try and contain the protests.
Saturday’s events come amid continued tension around the use of the hotels for asylum seekers.
Regular protests had been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which started after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on 10 July.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with trying to kiss a teenage girl and denies the allegations. He is due to stand trial later this month.
In the wake of those protests, Epping Forest District Council sought and won an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated there – a decision which the government is seeking permission to appeal.
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