New Brexit deal on Northern Ireland thought to be close as Tory MPs told they ‘must be in Westminster on Monday’
Conservative MPs have been told they must be in Westminster on Monday – leading to speculation a new Brexit deal is to be announced.
Tory MPs will be on a three-line whip on Monday, meaning all 355 of them must be in parliament for a possible important vote.
If they defy the order, they could have the whip withdrawn – meaning suspension or even being expelled from the party.
Three-line whips – named because instructions on how to vote are underlined three times to emphasise importance – normally only apply to major events such as the second readings of significant bills.
Read more:
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why does it matter?
MPs have not been told exactly why they have been given a three-line whip to be in on Monday but Rishi Sunak has been negotiating a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland all week with the EU.
The likelihood of an announcement was further boosted on Friday after sources in London and Brussels said an evening call between the prime minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was “positive”.
A Downing Street source said there had been “good progress” and The Times said cabinet ministers have been put on alert for a possible conference call over the weekend.
A border has effectively been placed in the Irish Sea due to the protocol
DUP tests delaying deal?
A deal was expected to be announced in the middle of this week but that has not happened, partly due to Tory Brexiteers and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) standing in the way.
The DUP has refused to be part of Stormont’s power sharing government because of the Northern Ireland Protocol, meaning there has been no functioning assembly there for a year.
It has laid down seven “tests” a new plan will have to pass, including no Irish Sea border.
Critics of the existing protocol say a border has effectively been created due to checks having to be carried out on goods coming from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland because the country shares a land border with the EU in Ireland.
The DUP also wants no checks on those goods at all.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly indicated ministers will not sign off on a deal until the DUP’s concerns are addressed.
Earlier this week, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat refused to confirm to Sky News whether MPs will be able to vote on a new deal, although Mr Sunak indicated during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday there would be a vote.
When asked if MPs would have a vote, Mr Tugendhat said: “You’ll have to ask the chief whip about that.”
Now a three-line whip has been instigated, the assumption is there will be a vote next week.
Read more:
What are the DUP’s tests for a Protocol replacement?
Breakup of UK ‘at stake’ if new deal isn’t reached
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DUP: ‘This is an historic moment’
Three likely changes
What exactly could be in a new deal for Northern Ireland has been kept under wraps during the negotiations.
Sky News’ Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates said three key changes are likely to form part of the agreement.
They are:
• Businesses that have signed up to a “trusted trader scheme” will be allowed to avoid all checks when moving goods from the GB mainland to Northern Ireland. In exchange, the EU will be able to access “real-time” UK data on trade flows across the Irish Sea
• The “Stormont Lock” will see the EU have to give the UK notice of future EU regulations intended for Northern Ireland. The Joint Ministerial Committee will then be able to lodge an objection, which may then result in the EU voluntarily choosing to disapply the regulation in Northern Ireland
• Control of the so-called level playing field of measures, like VAT rates and state subsidy policy, will revert to Westminster.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
More from Sky News:
Ex-Fulham captain makes Al Fayed allegation
Timeline of accusations against ex-Harrods boss
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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