Category Archives: Northern Ireland

News that king will host EU chief sparks fury from DUP and Brexiters

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Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue’

The king will host the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after the signing of the final Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Rishi Sunak, prompting a furious reaction from the Democratic Unionist party and Tory Brexiters, who accused the prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics.

The former DUP first minister Arlene Foster said she “cannot quite believe that No 10 would ask HM the king to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI. We must remember this is not the king’s decision but the government, who it appears is tone deaf.”

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DUP leader faces stark and binary choice over any NI protocol deal

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Jeffrey Donaldson risks internal revolt if he accepts deal but rejecting it will threaten future of power sharing

The Democratic Unionist party has said any Northern Ireland protocol deal must meet its “seven tests” but they omit the one that really matters: the test of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s leadership.

The seven conditions concern laws and trading rules, which have room for fudge and ambiguity.

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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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Keir Starmer rejects claims Labour’s five ‘missions’ are vague or easy to achieve – UK politics live

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The Labour leader will set out his party’s five ‘missions’ for government in a speech later

In an interview with BBC Breakfast this morning Keir Starmer defended the special immigration appeals commission (Siac) decision yesterday to refuse Shamima Begum’s appeal against the decision to remove her British citizenship. Starmer said “national security has to come first”.

Yesterday, after the Siac decision was announced, the Conservative party was tweeting a clip from an interview that Starmer gave to Sophy Ridge on Sky News in March 2019 saying that the decision by the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, to deprive Begum of her citizenship was “wrong”.

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Police name off-duty detective injured in Omagh shooting

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DCI John Caldwell, a high-profile PSNI officer, in critical condition in hospital after shooting on Wednesday night

The senior police officer shot in Omagh on Wednesday evening has been named as DCI John Caldwell, as police said the primary focus of the investigation was on dissident republicans.

Caldwell is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after the attack at a sports complex in Omagh. He was shot a number of times by masked men in front of young people he had been coaching.

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Sunak suggests MPs will vote on proposed NI protocol deal and accuses Starmer of wanting to ‘surrender’ to EU – UK politics live

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Latest updates: PM says Commons will be given a chance to ‘express its view’ on any final deal

British Steel has announced the closure of the coking ovens at its Scunthorpe works with the loss of 260 jobs, my colleague Jasper Jolly reports.

Graeme Wearden has reaction to this on his business live blog.

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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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No 10 says ‘unresolved issues’ remain in Northern Ireland protocol talks with EU – UK politics live

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Latest updates: government warning comes as former NI secretary says Good Friday agreement needs reform

Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union addressed the annual farming conference in Birmingham this morning with a grave tone. Pointing out that farmers across the country are going out of business, with the fastest reductions in some sectors such as salad since records began, she said that farmers are facing a huge squeeze and lack of support from government.

She said the Conservatives were “running out of time to walk the walk” and that food security was under severe threat as farmers face rising input costs, inflation, avian influenza and the climate crisis.

As a member of parliament for a farming constituency. I’ve worked with farmers and the NFU for years. I’ve even rolled up my sleeves and done the early morning milking at Wensleydale.

Now I know how important your work is. And I know that it’s more than just work. It’s a way of life that is passed down through the generations.

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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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Government to hold new talks with EU on NI protocol ‘in coming days’, says foreign secretary – as it happened

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James Cleverly’s comments come after No 10 said ‘no deal has been done as yet’

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, will discuss the Northern Ireland protocol in a call with the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič this afternoon, PA Media reports. They will be joined by the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, amid expectations both sides are inching closer to a deal.

Micheál Martin, the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (deputy PM), has urged UK politicians not to play politics with the Northern Ireland protocol negotiations. Speaking in Brussels, where he has been attending the EU foreign affairs council, he said:

I think what’s very important is that everybody now from here on think about the people of Northern Ireland.

Not power play, not politics elsewhere, I think the people of Northern Ireland have had enough of that, of people playing politics with their future. And, in my view, my only concern is that the people of Northern Ireland voted [in last May’s assembly election], they want their institutions [at Stormont] restored.

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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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Tributes paid after death of former Guardian writer Henry McDonald

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Longtime Ireland correspondent McDonald, 57, lauded after untimely death following treatment for cancer

Political leaders in Northern Ireland have led tributes to the writer and former Guardian and Observer correspondent Henry McDonald, who has died at the age of 57.

Family, friends and media colleagues expressed shock and sadness on Sunday after McDonald died at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast, where he was being treated for cancer.

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DUP says ‘progress made but more work needed’ in Northern Ireland protocol talks with Sunak – UK politics live

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Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says negotiations should be led by ‘getting it right and not timelines’ as Sinn Féin president says indications are ‘heartening’

Labour will offer Rishi Sunak the additional votes he needs to get a Northern Ireland protocol deal through parliament, the shadow justice secretary has said.

Steve Reed told reporters:

We’ll wait and see what the government is coming forward with. It’s very important for everybody in the United Kingdom that this problem is resolved. It’s a problem that is of this government’s own making, of course.

He added:

We have got the prime minister today in Northern Ireland, we hope with a deal to resolve the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol.

What we do not want to happen is that that self-same prime minister then rips up the Human Rights Act, which underpins the Good Friday agreement, because if he puts peace in Northern Ireland in peril in that way, that is an act of unforgivable irresponsibility for which you would never be forgiven.

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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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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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Deal on Northern Ireland protocol ‘could be struck next week’

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Negotiations are in crucial final phase with Rishi Sunak preparing to hold calls with EU leaders

Negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol are in the crucial final phase with a deal possible as early as next week, according to multiple sources.

Rishi Sunak is expected to spend the latter half of the parliamentary recess this week looking at the shape of the deal, with calls pencilled in with EU leaders. However, UK sources stressed that talks were at a delicate phase and there was no guarantee of a final agreement.

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