The Windsor Framework: How have MPs reacted to the new post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal?
Rishi Sunak confirmed on Monday that he had reached a deal with the EU to address problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
But after dealing with the press, he was sent to the House of Commons to face two and a half hours of questions from MPs of all stripes about the substance of the deal.
So, what did they think? We look at the main groups grilling the PM.
The Northern Ireland MPs
The leader of the DUP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, is not ready to either condemn or praise the protocol’s replacement yet.
He told MPs “significant progress has been secured across a number of areas”, but “key issues of concern” remained.
“My party will want to study the detail of what has been published today,” he added, saying it would be compared to the party’s seven tests for an acceptable agreement.
But Sir Jeffrey told Mr Sunak that “sovereignty is crucial”, so going forward, the government needed to give Northern Ireland assurances there would be no EU laws making trade barriers between NI and the rest of the UK.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is taking his time before giving his approval – or disapproval – for the deal.
His DUP colleague, Jim Shannon, seemed more certain about his position. He said the deal was “about more than solar panels and sausages” – it was about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Mr Shannon spoke out about any involvement of the European courts in laws impacting them, saying “the real power must lie with Westminster not Brussels”.
He added: “The prime minister can strike no deal ever without bringing the majority of unionists on board.
“And to push another deal through this House without unionist buy-in will offer no result other than another failed deal.”
Another DUP MP, Sammy Wilson, described Mr Sunak’s statement to the Commons as “an 18 minute confession… about the damage the [Northern Ireland] Protocol his government signed has done to Northern Ireland”.
And he questioned the so-called Stormont brake – which is designed to allow the Assembly to put a pause on new EU laws and allow the UK government to veto them.
“We don’t have confidence in that,” said Mr Wilson, “and [it is] why we still fear our position in the United Kingdom is not going to be restored.”
Read more:
Five key sections of the Windsor Framework
But SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his concerns about the brake were from a different perspective.
“There has been an awful lot of talk about the concerns of the DUP,” he said.
“But it is important to remember the majority of people in Northern Ireland opposed Brexit and want to see benefits of dual access to [the EU’s single Market] properly utilised.”
His point was echoed by Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party, who worried it could “add more instability” in Northern Ireland if that access is threatened.
The Tories
There were no outright condemnations of the framework from the Tory benches… as yet.
Neither Boris Johnson nor Liz Truss were in the House – though a source close to Mr Johnson told Sky News he “continues to study and reflect on the government’s proposals”.
Sir Edward Leigh came closest, warning that unless the deal got the NI Assembly up and running again “it is pretty futile – indeed it might be downright dangerous”.
He added: “I can assure him many of his colleagues on these benches are watching the DUP very carefully and we will go where they go.”
Theresa May – the first Conservative prime minister to try to negotiate a deal, who was ousted by her own MPs for failing to agree one they liked – congratulated Mr Sunak for the new offer, saying it would “make a huge difference”.
She said the Northern Ireland Protocol – negotiated by her immediate successor Boris Johnson – had been “the European Union’s preferred proposal of a border down the Irish Sea”.
She added: “The best move now is for everybody across this House to support this settlement, because that is what is in the best interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.”
Theresa May gave her support to Rishi Sunak’s deal, while making some pointed criticism on Boris Johnson’s.
Ex-Brexit secretary and cheerleader of the cause, David Davis, gave his wholehearted support to the framework too.
He offered his “unreserved congratulations” to Mr Sunak, called it a “spectacular success”, and praised the “extraordinary mechanism” of the Stormont brake.
“It was a brilliant piece of negotiation, insight and imagination,” he said.
Andrea Leadsom – another leading campaigner for Brexit – said had this deal been brought forward at any point over the last five years, “those of us who were Brexiteers, Unionists and Remainers would have jumped on it”.
But Sir Bill Cash said “the devil as ever lies in the detail”.
The opposition views
Offering his support for the deal, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons: “We will not snipe. We will not seek to play political games.
“And when the prime minister puts this deal forward for a vote, Labour will vote for it.”
He said the plan “will never be perfect – it is a compromise”, but he added: “I have always been clear that, if implemented correctly, it is an arrangement that can work in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
“And that now it’s been agreed, we all have an obligation to make it work.”
However, Sir Keir did use the opportunity to attack Boris Johnson for having told the public there would be no checks in the Irish Sea under his previous deal, saying the claim was “nonsense”.
“[It was] a point-blank refusal to engage with unionists in Northern Ireland in good faith, never mind take their concerns seriously,” he added. “And it inevitably contributed to the collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
“And I did wonder after the prime minister listed all the problems if he had forgotten who had negotiated it.
“So, when presenting what this agreement means in practice, I urge the prime minister to be utterly unlike his predecessor.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘We will not snipe’: Labour vows to back deal
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the SNP MPs were less than impressed with the deal, believing the best thing would be to return to the EU.
“Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster,” said the party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn.
“And what this deal does not do is create parity across these nations.”
He said Northern Ireland businesses would continue to have access to the EU’s single market, while Scotland would not.
“I do not begrudge Northern Ireland businesses, but I do regret Scotland does not have the same opportunities,” he added.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party needed to study the deal, but welcomed “the spirit of partnership and compromise between the UK government and the European Union” in coming to an agreement.
World
Body pulled from mine after police cut off supplies to ‘smoke out’ thousands of illegal miners
A body has been recovered from a South African mine after police cut off basic supplies in an effort to force around 4,000 illegal miners to resurface.
The body has emerged from the closed gold mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein a day after South Africa’s government said it would not help the illegal miners.
Around 20 people have surfaced from the mineshaft this week as police wait nearby to arrest all those appearing from underground.
It comes a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to “smoke them [the miners] out”.
The move is part of the police’s “Close the Hole” operation, whereby officers cut off supplies of food, water and other basic necessities to get those who have entered illegally to come out.
Local reports suggest the supply routes were cut off at the mine around two months ago, with relatives of the miners seen in the area as the stand-off continues.
Relatives of miners and community members wait at the mine shaft. Pic: AP
A decomposed body was brought up on Thursday, with pathologists on the scene, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said.
It comes after South African cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners, known in the country as zama zamas, because they are involved in a criminal act.
“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there,” Ms Ntshavheni said.
An aerial view of a mineshaft. Pic: AP
Senior police and defence officials are expected to visit the area on Friday to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion”, according to a media advisory from the police.
In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in South Africa’s North West province, where police have cut off supplies.
Many of the miners were reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.
Illegal mining remains common in South Africa’s old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.
Read more world news:
Argentina walks out of COP29 climate summit
How Ukraine is downing Russian drones
Video of Israeli hostage released by terror group
Relatives of miners and community members wait near the mine shaft. Pic: AP
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The illegal miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.
Their presence in closed mines has also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.
Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.
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.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
‘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.
Read more from Stuart Ramsay:
How Ukrainian units are downing Russia’s drones
Heartbreaking final moments of girl who tried to flee Gaza
Inside a brutal and deadly Mexican gang war
‘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.
Read more from Sky News:
Call for dog-free areas to tackle racism
Argentina walks out of COP29 summit
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.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway