DUP says new Brexit deal doesn’t address ‘fundamental problems’ with Northern Ireland Protocol
Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland doesn’t address the “fundamental problems” with the protocol it is intended to replace, the DUP has said.
The unionist party has released a fresh assessment of the Windsor Framework ahead of a crunch vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
While it is not an official verdict on whether they will back the agreement, the DUP’s statement said “there is more work to do” to tackle issues that led to the collapse of powersharing in Stormont.
A spokesperson for the DUP said: “The Windsor Framework does not deal with some of the fundamental problems at the heart of our current difficulties.
“The government has framed this debate on Wednesday as an overall endorsement of the framework.
“It is our current assessment that there remain key areas of concern which require further clarification, re-working and change as well as seeing further legal text.
“We will continue our engagement with the government and urge the prime minister to take the time to get this right rather than rushing through a deal that doesn’t address all the core issues.”
The DUP is currently blocking devolution at Stormont in protest at the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed by Boris Johnson under his “oven ready” Brexit deal.
Mr Johnson has already signalled he might not vote for the Windsor Framework in parliament, which could influence other Tory MPs.
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Johnson: ‘Difficult to vote for Brexit deal’
The Protocol was designed to prevent a hard border from being reintroduced on the island of Ireland but led to trade barriers being created between Great Britain and NI – effectively creating a customs border down the Irish sea.
The Windsor Framework struck by Rishi Sunak last month aims to address the key issues by removing red tape on goods and giving local politicians more of a say on EU rules that remain in the region.
Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to the Windsor Framwork last month
However, the DUP’s support is crucial for powersharing to be restored in Northern Ireland, which has been left without a functioning government for more than a year.
After weeks of scrutinising the deal, the party’s statement is not the only sign of discontent.
Deal ‘doesn’t cut the mustard’
On Monday senior DUP MP Ian Paisley said he will vote against the government in the vote this week and suggested his colleagues would follow suit.
He said the framework “did not cut the mustard” when it came to the seven tests the DUP say must be passed for them to back a deal and return to government.
“I am categorically voting against, and I would be surprised if my colleagues do not join me,” he told The News Letter.
“After taking time to study it and at least one legal opinion on it, and going through the details, and also having conversations and messages back and forward to the Secretary of State, I am still of that opinion – that it doesn’t address any of our seven tests.
“It is the old substance dressed up in a new package with a ribbon around it, but it hasn’t actually changed, or addressed the fundamental issue of Northern Ireland trade being disrupted in our internal UK market.”
Ian Paisley
The comments could spell trouble for Mr Sunak, with many Tory Eurosceptics waiting to see what the DUP says about the framework before deciding whether to back the government.
Wednesday’s vote will be on a statutory instrument to implement the Stormont brake – which Downing Street sees as the most “significant part” of the agreement.
The mechanism would allow a minority of MLAs at Stormont to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland – a move that could see the UK government veto their introduction in the region.
Read more:
Leo Varadkar: ‘Important to listen to DUP concerns’ over deal
Windsor Framework: What role will EU rules continue to play in NI?
Minister ‘confident vote will succeed’
The government has pitched the brake as a solution to the so-called “democratic deficit” Eurosceptics say has arisen as a result of NI being subject to Brussels’ rules so it can trade freely with the Republic of Ireland.
On Sunday, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge: “I’m confident the vote will succeed and pass, and I hope we will do so with the support of the DUP but ultimately that is for them.”
Labour has also said it will vote in favour of the regulations on Wednesday.
Speaking after Mr Dowden, shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy said: “I think it’s a step forward and we will support a step forward.
“Rishi Sunak is prepared to go and start cleaning up some of his own mess, we’re certainly not going to criticise him for that and there’s no question that this is something that is now urgent.
“It’s incredibly important and trying to remove some of that friction, some of those barriers on the island of Ireland, has long been our priority.”
An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.
Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.
Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’
The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.
Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.
“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.
Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.
In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.
Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.
The drones were hidden in truck containers. Pic: SBU Security Service
The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.
At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.
These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
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Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.
The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.
Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.
Read more:
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The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.
Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.
But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.
Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.
Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.
The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.
The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.
Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.
A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.
Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.
The perpetrator has not been identified.
A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP
A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.
In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.
He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.
There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.
Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.
He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.
Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters
Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.
It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.
Around 5,400 police were deployed across Paris after the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.
Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.
Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.
Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.
Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.
PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”
Pics: AP
After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.
Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.
Pics: AP
Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”
Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!
“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”
Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.
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Three patients have been killed and dozens of other people were reportedly injured after a fire at a hospital in Germany.
The blaze broke out in a room in the geriatric ward of the Marienkrankenhaus early on Sunday.
It started on the ground floor and spread to the level above, with smoke affecting much of the four-storey building in the city of Hamburg.
Firefighters were alerted soon after midnight.
They said they found several patients calling for help from windows, and some people were rescued using ladders.
Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
Three adults died and more than 30 were injured in the fire, the German news agency dpa said.
One of the injured is in a life-threatening condition, while 18 have serious injuries and 15 have minor injuries, the agency added.
Read more from Sky News:
Two dead and hundreds of arrests in France after PSG win
Britain has ‘lost control’ of its borders, says minister
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Part of the building had to be evacuated, though the wounded were mostly treated at the hospital.
Two injured people were taken to other nearby clinics.
The blaze was put out within about 20 minutes. The cause is not yet known.
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