A new deal on Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade rules has been agreed by the UK government and the EU, a senior government source has told Sky News.
For weeks, there has been speculation over whether a new deal could be thrashed out three years after Brexit took place as Rishi Sunak entered talks with the EU.
The details of the negotiations between the bloc and the UK government have been kept strictly under wraps but should be revealed later today following final talks between Mr Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor this lunchtime.
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Mr Sunak will put the deal to his cabinet this afternoon but a vote by MPs in the Commons is not expected until possibly later this week.
The prime minister will hold a joint news conference with Ms von der Leyen at 3.30pm GMT, where it is hoped they will reveal some details of the agreement.
Mr Sunak will now seek the backing of unionists and Tory Brexiteers.
The deal follows frustrations around the Northern Ireland Protocol, which aimed to prevent creating a hard border on the island of Ireland – but effectively placed a border in the Irish Sea.
This was something former prime minister Boris Johnson promised would not happen when he signed off on the original deal with the EU.
Some businesses have ceased trading due to the extra cost and bureaucracy created by goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK having to be checked over concerns they could end up going into the EU over the border in Ireland.
Read more:
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
Mr Johnson introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to override that part of the Brexit deal but this caused tension with the EU, who said the move risked breaching an international treaty. The bill’s passage through parliament was paused by Mr Sunak.
But Mr Sunak has now agreed a new deal with the EU, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen heading over to London on Monday morning to sign off on the final parts of the agreement.
She will then meet King Charles for tea at Windsor Castle.
Later today, Mr Sunak will make a statement on the deal to MPs in the House of Commons but a vote is not expected in the coming days.
Despite the details of the deal being closely guarded, Mr Sunak has faced opposition from Tory Brexiteers and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who refused to form a government at Stormont a year ago over the protocol.
The PM will still need the DUP’s support to see the deal through.