Brexit: Rishi Sunak suggests MPs will get vote on Northern Ireland deal

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2023

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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.”

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.

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”.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

Published

1 hour ago

November 25, 2024

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

Published

18 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.