TORY Brexiteers today attacked Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland fix as “practically useless” in a fresh blow to No10.
But the backbench European Research Group remained tight-lipped about how they will vote when the deal is put before MPs tomorrow.
Rishi Sunak suffered another Brexit blow today
The PM is already reeling after the Democratic Unionist Party vowed to “unanimously” oppose his deal in Parliament.
And this morning the ERG revealed their “Star Chamber” of lawyers tore apart his flagship “Stormont Brake” policy as hopeless.
Chairman Mark Francois said it would not remove the supremacy of meddling Euro judges in the country.
He said said: “The Star Chamber’s principal findings are: that EU law will still be supreme in Northern Ireland; the rights of its people under the 1800 Act of Union are not restored; the green lane is not really a green lane at all; the Stormont brake is practically useless; and the framework itself has no exit, other than through a highly complex legal process.”
The group will hold a further meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris later today.
The hardline Eurosceptics will hold a final meeting at 10:30am on Wednesday morning just hours ahead of the vote.
Mr Francois said: “He said: “The group hasn’t taken the decision yet, and ultimately it will be down to every individual in the group.”
A senior ERG figure told Trending In The News that they did not think the group would have a united position going into the Commons showdown.
Downing Street today insisted the Windsor Framework is the “only avenue” to change the current “automatic alignment” with the EU.
The PM’s spokesman said: “”A vote against the brake, in factual terms, would lead to automatic alignment with the EU with no say at all.”
It came hours after the Democratic Unionist Party announced its MPs would “unanimously” reject Mr Sunak’s agreement with Brussels.
They ordered the PM back to the table to give Belfast a bigger say over stopping EU laws being forced on the province due to the shared land border with the Irish republic.
Tomorrow’s vote is still set to sail through the Commons with Labour votes after Sir Keir Starmer offered support.
