Category Archives: Foreign policy

Sunak draws ire after hailing Northern Ireland’s access to UK and EU markets

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PM criticised for boasting about trade benefits of new deal while denying same gains to rest of UK

Rishi Sunak has eulogised Northern Ireland’s “unique” and privileged position in having easy trade access to both the UK and EU markets – prompting critics to note that this was the case for the entire country before Brexit.

In comments that could potentially antagonise hardline Conservative Brexiters – who suspect Sunak could secretly welcome a shuffle towards closer EU single market access – the prime minister used an event in Northern Ireland to talk up what he called “the prize that is on offer” with his post-Brexit protocol.

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Sunak: True test of Northern Ireland deal will be restoration of assembly

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PM hints that Westminster is optimistic about return of power-sharing after unveiling Stormont brake

Rishi Sunak has said the true test for his new protocol deal will be the restoration of the Northern Ireland assembly, saying citizens “need and deserve” to return to functioning government.

In a hint the government in Westminster is optimistic about the return of power-sharing, Sunak said the new Stormont brake – which would allow the assembly a say over EU law applied in Northern Ireland – would be a key step towards restoring the “democratic deficit”.

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Tuesday briefing: What we know about the NI protocol deal – and what we don’t

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In today’s newsletter: the key takeaways from Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement of the Windsor agreement

Good morning. Where once there was protocol, now there is protocol amended by framework. I’m talking, of course, about the announcement yesterday that the UK and the EU have agreed a deal to end the interminable dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.

The news was finally announced by Rishi Sunak and EU president Ursula von der Leyen in a highly choreographed, and conspicuously cheery, appearance at Windsor Guildhall – previously better known as the wedding venue for Charles and Camilla, and Elton John and David Furnish.

Palestinian territories | Hundreds of Israeli settlers have gone on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank, setting alight dozens of cars and homes after two of their number were killed by a Palestinian gunman. One man was reported killed in what appeared to be the worst incident of settler violence in the area in decades. Read Bethan McKernan’s dispatch from Huwara, West Bank.

UK news | A missing couple that disappeared with their newborn baby in January are in police custody after being arrested in Brighton. Police said that an urgent search was now underway for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s child.

US media | Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire owner of Fox News, acknowledged under oath that several Fox News hosts endorsed Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, court documents reveal. Murdoch made the admission during a deposition in a $1.6bn lawsuit brought by a voting machine company that accuses Fox News of defamation.

Fertility law | Children born via sperm or egg donation would not need to wait until adulthood to find out more about their biological parents, under proposed updates to the law in the UK. The information would only be shared with the consent of the donor.

Politics | Betty Boothroyd, a former Labour MP and the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died at the age of 93.The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said Boothroyd “broke that glass ceiling with panache”. See her life in pictures and obituary.

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Boris Johnson dangles threat of rebellion over Northern Ireland deal

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Most Tory MPs welcome breakthrough as hardline Brexiters are mulling response

Boris Johnson is dangling the threat of a rebellion over Rishi Sunak after a new post-Brexit deal was announced that will rip up the former prime minister’s protocol on Northern Ireland and ditch his legislation to override it.

Although most Conservative MPs warmly welcomed the breakthrough after two years of negotiations, Johnson stayed away from the House of Commons chamber and is said not to have made up his mind about whether to endorse or oppose the “Windsor framework”.

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Sunak hails ‘new chapter’ in UK-EU relations as Northern Ireland deal is agreed

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Prime minister unveils agreement with European Commission president after four months of negotiations

Rishi Sunak has hailed a “new chapter” in the UK’s relationship with the EU as he secured a deal to end the long-running dispute over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol.

The prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described a “decisive breakthrough” at a joint news conference in Windsor after four months of intense negotiations.

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EU leaders voice hope NI deal will be start of ‘new chapter’ with UK

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Windsor agreement is intended to end poisonous disputes of Brexit years

European leaders have voiced hopes of turning the page with the British government, following a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol intended to end the poisonous disputes of the Brexit years.

“This new framework will allow us to begin a new chapter,” the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said at her joint press conference with Rishi Sunak. “It provides for longlasting solutions that both of us are confident will work for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland.”

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Northern Ireland protocol: key issues revised deal must address

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Trade and governance will be at centre of new post-Brexit pact, but what about other areas of disagreement?

Named the “new Windsor framework”, the revised Northern Ireland protocol has been described as a “decisive breakthrough” by Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

What does it mean and what are the big breakthroughs?

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Brexit: Ursula von der Leyen to travel to UK for talks with Rishi Sunak

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European Commission chief heading to Britain with Northern Ireland deal expected as soon as Monday

Rishi Sunak is to hold face-to-face talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, with a deal to revise post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland expected as soon as Monday.

“Today, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and prime minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland,” a joint statement said.

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Sunak grapples with NI protocol puzzle but the stakes are different to 2019

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PM’s toughest political test comes amid plummeting interest in Brexit and elaborate parliamentary intrigue

For a Brexit-minded MP, the parallels may seem striking: an electorally embattled prime minister trying to push through a controversial Northern Ireland deal in the face of Tory and Democratic Unionist party (DUP) scepticism. But one thing has changed: this is 2023, not 2019.

Theresa May’s struggles with Brexit, and her tumbling popularity with voters, led to her being forced out as prime minister by Conservative backbenchers. While no one would dispute that Rishi Sunak faces perhaps his toughest ever political test, the stakes for him are if not necessarily lower then perhaps different.

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NI protocol: Sunak criticised over ‘plans for EU chief to meet king’

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Meeting between Charles and Ursula von de Leyen cancelled, reports say, as Varadkar says deal ‘inching towards conclusion’

Rishi Sunak is facing criticism after reports that a meeting between King Charles and the president of the European Commission was cancelled days before the announcement of an expected deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

According to reports, there had been plans for an in-person meeting between the king and Ursula von der Leyen, as part of a trip to the UK to seal the deal on the Brexit trading arrangements.

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Sunak could announce Northern Ireland protocol deal on Monday

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Move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to two-year standoff with EU

Rishi Sunak is poised to announce a deal to end the protracted row over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol as soon as Monday, the Guardian has been told.

The move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to a two-year standoff with the EU. But in a huge political gamble for the prime minister, it may trigger a fresh battle with pro-Brexit Conservative backbenchers in the European Research Group (ERG) and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP).

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Sunak ‘relaxed’ about DUP and Tory backlash over Northern Ireland deal

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Prime minister and EU press ahead on protocol agreement before momentum slips

Rishi Sunak is preparing to face down his Brexit critics and press ahead with a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol if he can secure one in the coming days, government sources have said.

The prime minister was said to be “relaxed” about a growing backlash over what hardline Eurosceptic MPs fear will amount to little more than a “glossary” on “how to implement” the existing protocol.

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Call to back Rishi Sunak on NI protocol deal amid fears ministers may quit

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Senior Brexiter Maria Caulfield says PM must be given ‘time and space’ to conclude talks with EU

A senior Brexiter minister has urged colleagues to give Rishi Sunak “time and space” to finish negotiations with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, as warnings grew of potential ministerial resignations.

Sunak has been told he is facing the possibility ministers may quit if his deal does not significantly rewrite the protocol or remove any powers for the European court of justice.

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Suella Braverman hints at opposition to ditching Northern Ireland protocol bill

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Home secretary indicates she does not think Rishi Sunak should abandon legislation in seeking deal with EU

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has hinted Rishi Sunak should not abandon the Northern Ireland protocol bill in his quest for a deal to break the deadlock, as hopes faded that an agreement could be struck by Tuesday.

Braverman, a former chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of hard Brexiters, struck a note of caution about plans to freeze the bill. The legislation would have allowed the UK to unilaterally override the protocol. Sunak is prepared to drop the bill should agreement be reached for changes.

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Sunak urges Europe to use weapons stockpiles to help Ukraine war

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UK prime minister says Kyiv needs more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons

European countries should stop hoarding weapon stockpiles and give them to Ukraine to allow Kyiv to make a decisive assault, Rishi Sunak has told the Munich security conference.

The British prime minister said Ukraine needed more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons, amid frustration in London and Kyiv that some European powers are refusing to hand over arms on the basis they cannot afford to reduce their own defences.

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Rishi Sunak to call for new Nato charter to ensure ‘lasting peace’ for Ukraine

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UK PM expected to urge leaders at Munich Security Conference to ‘double down on our military support’ for Kyiv

Rishi Sunak will call on world leaders to ensure a “lasting peace” for Ukraine with the establishment of a new Nato charter to help the country defend itself “again and again” in the face of any future declarations of war by Russia.

Fresh from hosting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the UK last week, Sunak is expected to call for countries to “double down on our military support” and warn that “the security and sovereignty of every nation” is at stake.

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DUP leader keeps hopes of protocol deal on track as he declares ‘progress’ in talks

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Jeffrey Donaldson says ‘big moment’ looming in Rishi Sunak’s effort to cut a post-Brexit deal with EU

The Democratic Unionist party has kept on track Rishi Sunak’s attempt to change the Northern Ireland protocol, declaring “progress” in Downing Street’s talks with the EU.

Jeffrey Donaldson said on Friday a “big moment” was looming in the UK’s effort to cut a deal with Brussels over Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. The DUP leader said his party would withhold judgment on any deal – which is expected next week – until it had seen the text.

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Truss urges west to safeguard Taiwan security ‘before it’s too late’

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In Tokyo speech to conservative lawmakers, former British PM issues warning about Chinese aggression

Liz Truss has used her first overseas speech since resigning as British prime minister to call on the west to safeguard Taiwan’s security and economy in the face of Chinese aggression “before it is too late”.

Speaking in Tokyo at a meeting of mainly conservative lawmakers that included the former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, Truss said Britain had been naive to court the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in 2015, adding that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should serve as a warning of what happens when democracies fail to stand up to authoritarian regimes.

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Rishi Sunak travels to Belfast in sign NI protocol deal is imminent

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Visit suggests announcement of UK-EU solution on Northern Ireland could come as early as Friday

Rishi Sunak arrived in Belfast on Thursday night, in a sign that a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol is imminent.

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will also travel to Brussels on Friday for talks with the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič.

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Truss to call for tough sanctions against China if it escalates Taiwan tensions

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Former PM will warn in Tokyo ‘free world is in danger’ in apparent attempt to put pressure on Rishi Sunak

Britain and the rest of the G7 should urgently agree a tough package of sanctions to impose on China if it escalates military tensions with Taiwan, Liz Truss will argue, as she uses her first public overseas speech to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak.

Speaking in Tokyo on Friday, the former prime minister will urge her successor to be more hawkish in standing up to Beijing, warning coordinated action is needed to block “the rise of a totalitarian China” given “the free world is in danger”.

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