RISHI Sunak faces Brexiteer fury as he finally shows his hand on fixing Northern Ireland goods checks.
The PM has been warned he must not sell out to Brussels after he met political parties in the province — with a deal to improve the Northern Ireland Protocol “very, very close”.
Rishi Sunak in talks with Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill
Despite concerns from Unionists and Tories, European judges will likely still have a role in settling UK border disputes with the Republic of Ireland and the EU.
The PM and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris met with leaders outside Belfast ahead of unveiling a blueprint on Tuesday.
Checks on goods crossing from Britain to the province have caused a nightmare for bosses while outraging Unionist politicians.
It has led to paralysis, as the DUP collapsed the power-sharing arrangement in protest, meaning there is no functioning Parliament.
Mr Sunak has been working on a compromise to the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU that all sides can swallow. The all-important DUP said yesterday “progress had been made across a range of areas”, fuelling hopes they will be on board.
But leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned there are “still some areas where further work is required”. Brexiteers have warned Mr Sunak not to sell out to the EU and that he must end the rule of Euro judges.
Senior DUP MP Sammy Wilson fumed that Northern Ireland had been “abandoned to the EU” by Westminster and reiterated calls for Brussels rules to be scrapped from Northern Ireland.
Former Tory minister David Jones said: “Northern Ireland must cease to be subject to laws made in Brussels. It’s as simple as that. Anything less won’t work.”
Following the talks the nationalist Sinn Fein party said the mood was positive. President Mary Lou McDonald insisted it was “very much game on” while vice-president Michelle O’Neill hailed “good progress”.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar was confident of a deal in a fortnight which would achieve the “amazing prize” of re-establishing Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions.
Mr Sunak last night hailed the “positive discussions” but admitted there was still “work to do”.
He said: “Now it is clear that we need to find solutions to the practical problems that the protocol is causing families and business in Northern Ireland, as well as address the democratic deficit.
“There is more work to do, and that’s why my ministerial colleagues and I will continue talking to the European Union intensely to find solutions that protect the Belfast Good Friday agreement and Northern Ireland’s place in our single market.”
