Summary

  • PM Rishi Sunak has been giving a statement in the House of Commons after unveiling a deal with the EU on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland

  • He says the deal "permanently removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea"

  • Sir Keir Starmer says Labour will back the deal, which he says will improve the UK's international standing

  • Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says the deal secures "significant progress" but concerns remain

  • Earlier, Sunak and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed a "decisive breakthrough" at a joint news conference

  • Sunak said the NI Assembly would be able to stop some EU laws on goods applying by using what he called a "Stormont Brake"

  • But Von der Leyen stressed this was an "emergency mechanism" and the European Court of Justice would have the final say on single market issues

  1. That's all for nowpublished at 21:10 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    We're wrapping up our live coverage of today's big Brexit developments.

    There'll be a lot more to come on this in the days and weeks ahead - you can get fully clued up on what it means for the UK below.

    Thanks for joining us.

    Today's live coverage was brought to you by Sean Seddon, Marita Moloney, Sam Hancock, Chas Geiger, James Gregory, James Harness, Heather Sharp, Emily McGarvey, Jessica Lawrence, Thomas Mackintosh, Laura Gozzi, Paul Seddon, Gemma O’Reilly, Eimear Flanagan, Jeremy Gahagan and Tom Spender.

  2. Sunak Commons statement now overpublished at 21:08 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    After two-and-a-half hours, Rishi Sunak's statement is now over.

    The PM concludes by declaring that the deal ensures Northern Ireland is "part of our precious Union". He says it allows the free flow of goods across the UK, while protecting Northern Ireland's place in the Union and restoring its people's sovereignty.

  3. Live coverage ending soonpublished at 21:06 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sam Hancock
    Live reporter

    Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der LeyenImage source, Getty Images

    We're going to pause this page soon, with a view to reopening it tomorrow morning. Before that, here's a recap of the day's events.

    A new Brexit deal... was reached and announced by the UK and EU, concerning trade arrangements in Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework will effectively replace the Northern Ireland Protocol, which led to major disagreements between the UK and EU.

    Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen... met in Windsor earlier, just outside London, to confirm the news and host a joint press conference.

    Sunak said the new deal achieved three things:

    • The removal of “any sense of border in the Irish sea”
    • The enhanced availability of British products in Northern Ireland - including medicines
    • It also "safeguards sovereignty for Northern Ireland" by allowing the NI Assembly to stop EU goods laws applying in Northern Ireland using a mechanism dubbed the Stormont brake
    • But Von der Leyen said the European Court of Justice would have the final say on single market issues

    Reaction has been mixed... with Labour saying they'd back the deal, but reminding the PM it was his party that signed the last one. The DUP, which has refused to sit at Stormont until the Protocol issues are fixed, said it would review the detail of what has been published before deciding on a position.

    Meanwhile... Von der Leyen met King Charles at Windsor Castle, in a controversial meeting that Buckingham Palace said was separate to any Protocol talks.

    What's next? We'll have to wait and see if the deal sways the DUP - Northern Ireland's largest unionist party - to return to the country's power-sharing government.

  4. Deal brings in new travel rules for petspublished at 20:57 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Travelling dogImage source, Getty Images

    In addition to new provisions on trade, today's agreement also means new rules for pet owners and replaces a series of requirements for travelling to Northern Ireland from Great Britain with an animal.

    Currently pets require a vet-issued health certificate and an up-to-date rabies vaccination. Dogs also require a treatment for tapeworm for each visit.

    The government says the new deal means the owners of microchipped pets who aren't travelling on to Ireland (and therefore the EU) will no longer require any of these documents.

    It is promising that people will be able to confirm this when they book a flight or ferry ticket online, or through a new lifetime pet travel document issued through a smartphone app or on paper.

    The new rules will take effect this autumn, with further guidance planned.

  5. White House reacts to Windsor Frameworkpublished at 20:53 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Gary O'Donoghue
    Washington Correspondent

    John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters that the Biden administration was “grateful” that the UK and EU had managed to come up with the deal, which he said would improve prosperity for both parties.

    He said it would open up all kinds of possibilities for trade that were otherwise at risk, though he declined to comment on the impact of the deal on any future trading arrangements between the UK and the United states.

  6. Irish PM praises 'good faith' UK-EU negotiationspublished at 20:48 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Leo Varadkar

    Earlier today in Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar gave his take on what the Windsor Framework will mean.

    Varadkar was involved in negotiations for the original protocol deal, and became Taoiseach for a second time in December.

    He began by paying tribute to the negotiating teams in the EU and UK who operated in "good faith", as well as parties at Stormont.

    He credits the deal as providing solutions that are "agreeable, workable and endurable".

    He hopes that when parties have time to analyse the deal in finer detail, it will lead to the restoration of the Stormont Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council.

    "I firmly believe that the people in Northern Ireland don't want to return to divisions of the past.

    "They want to make progress together, they want a shared future."

  7. Liz Truss not present for debatepublished at 20:44 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    With Boris Johnson said to be considering the details of the agreement before deciding whether to back it, there will also be speculation about the position of another former Prime Minister.

    Liz Truss wasn’t in the Commons for the debate and hasn’t given any indication - either on the record or via intermediaries - as to whether she will vote for it.

    While she was Foreign Secretary, Truss backed Johnson’s tough line on the Protocol and supported his threat to unilaterally overhaul it with a controversial Bill.

    As PM, she continued with a similar strategy to her predecessor. She warned the EU she was ready to legislate in order to change the Protocol without consent from Brussels unless they agreed to changes.

    Sunak has buried that proposed law today and struck a more conciliatory tone with the EU. Many Tory MPs look set to back his new agreement – but it still isn’t clear if Truss will be one of them.

  8. Questions continue for Sunakpublished at 20:38 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Just over two hours into Rishi Sunak's Commons statement, a lot of MPs have now left the chamber and there are many spaces on the green benches - but those who remain are continuing to quiz the PM.

    Apart from the ministers involved in negotiating the deal on the government front bench and other parties' main spokespeople, many of those left appear to represent constituencies in Northern Ireland or have a particular interest in its affairs.

  9. Mixed reaction from Stormont partiespublished at 20:31 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Before Sunak's statement in the Commons, we heard reaction to the deal from Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party - and we've also been hearing from the other parties represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont.

    Alliance Party: Deputy leader Stephen Farry welcomes the deal but says the Stormont brake could add "a certain amount of instability in Stormont".

    Ulster Unionist Party: Leader Doug Beattie says his party will study the deal and is not simply going to give cover to other parties.

    Social Democratic and Labour Party: Colum Eastwood, leader of the nationalist party, says it is a positive day and the deal brings "an enormous opportunity to create jobs, to trade into two markets that nobody else has".

    Traditional Unionist Voice: Leader Jim Allister criticises the Windsor Framework, saying "effectively the protocol stays" and he believes the Stormont brake is a veto for nationalist parties at Stormont.

    People Before Profit: Assembly member Gerry Carroll says the deal must not "further enshrine communal divisions" at Stormont and his party opposes "any further protocol concessions to the DUP".

  10. A calmer Brexit debate than mostpublished at 20:23 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Helen Catt
    Political correspondent

    The tone of this statement has certainly been a lot calmer than many Brexit debates.

    Rishi Sunak has even had some ringing endorsements from leading Brexiteers like David Davis and Andrea Leadsom, and the backing of one former prime minister, Theresa May.

    What has become clear though is that the Stormont Brake is going to be the focus of a lot more questions.

    There were still doubts about the framework expressed from the DUP benches.

    Rishi Sunak will also be aware that a number of voices which could carry significant weight have not yet had their say, not least the two other former prime ministers who remain in the Commons.

    It’s an encouraging start for the prime minister, but there could still be a long way to go.

  11. Boris Johnson 'reflecting' on Sunak's dealpublished at 20:11 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Unlike Theresa May, who warmly welcomed Sunak's deal, Boris Johnson is not in the Commons chamber.

    Last week, he said passing the now abandoned Northern Ireland Protocol Bill was the best way forward in resolving the issues created by the Protocol - which he negotiated with the EU.

    So far, he has said nothing publicly about the Windsor Framework.

    The Press Association news agency has quoted a source close to the former prime minister as saying Johnson "is continuing to study and reflect on the government's proposals".

  12. Issues on veterinary medicines - DUP MPpublished at 20:07 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Ian Paisley in the House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament

    Ian Paisley, of the DUP, has been asking the PM about the impact the deal will have on the agriculture and farming sector.

    He points to what he sees as a potential issue over the arrangement for veterinary medicines and asks whether it will be fixed or whether it is a "failed process already".

    Sunak says the agreement on veterinary medicine lasts until 2025, which will give both sides time to come to a more permanent agreement.

  13. Who decides when Stormont brake can be triggered?published at 20:04 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith says that for him, as someone who served in Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement is his biggest priority.

    On the Stormont brake, he says the text says it can only be used when the situation is considered "significant" enough. But that leads to him asking what that means, and who makes that determination.

    Sunak says it's for "us" - the UK government - to make that decision with Northern Ireland. He says it's a powerful mechanism.

  14. Sunak statement a 'confession about protocol failure' - DUP MPpublished at 20:02 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson has delivered the angriest response from the unionist camp so far in the debate.

    He describes the PM's statement as an 18-minute confession about the failures of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which in his view damaged Northern Ireland.

    Wilson says many EU laws will still apply in Northern Ireland under the new agreement and points out there will still be some physical border checks.

    He says he still fears that Northern Ireland's position in the UK is not fully restored by the deal.

    The PM says less than 3% of EU laws apply to Northern Ireland and that some checks on red lane imports are necessary to prevent smuggling.

  15. Leadsom asks for assurances on dealpublished at 19:57 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Former cabinet minister and Brexit supporter Andrea Leadsom praises the deal. She says that if at any point in the past five years this deal had been on the table, Brexiteers, remainers and unionists "would have jumped on it".

    She "really heartily" congratulates the PM and his colleagues for their "excellent work".

    But she asks for an assurance that it meets the requirements of the Act of Union and the Good Friday Agreement.

    Sunak insists it does, saying his government has "worked very hard to deliver for her and for everyone in Northern Ireland".

  16. Real danger there could be more instability - Alliance's Farrypublished at 19:52 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Stephen Farry MP says his party - the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - broadly supports the deal, but his key concern is the "preservation of dual market access".

    He tells the PM he has "massive concerns" over the Stormont brake, and fears there are "real dangers" it could add to the instability in the Northern Irish Assembly - which is currently not sitting because of the DUP's continuing boycott of the power-sharing executive.

    Sunak says he looks forward to speaking to all parties about the deal.

  17. SDLP has concerns over Stormont brake - leaderpublished at 19:43 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Up next is Colum Eastwood, the leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party, who says his party has some concerns about the new deal - particularly to do with the Stormont brake.

    But he says generally that everybody's happy there's finally been some movement on this post-Brexit issue. He then reminds the PM that "the majority of people" in Northern Ireland oppose Brexit.

    Sunak says the Windsor Framework has struck the "right balance" for businesses who want access to the EU's market, but do want a hard border.

  18. Ex-Brexit secretary Davis praises dealpublished at 19:35 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    David Davis, who was Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union under Theresa May, describes the new deal is a "spectacular negotiating success".

    He says the Stormont brake mechanism is "extraordinary" and without international precedent.

    Davis praises the negotiating team's imagination and asks the PM to tell the House more about how it will work.

    Sunak says it relies on provisions already in place under the Good Friday Agreement and will apply to rules which cause lasting damage to ordinary lives in Northern Ireland.

    It will give the UK government a powerful veto that ensures sovereignty for Northern Ireland, the PM adds.

  19. Davey presses Sunak on Stormont brake mechanismpublished at 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomes the "spirit of partnership and compromise" with the EU involved in securing this deal.

    He presses Sunak on consulting with the Northern Ireland parties about the use of the "Stormont brake" so it does not undermine stability there.

    Sunak says the brake builds on the Good Friday Agreement, but he will work with the parties to make sure it works.

  20. People of Northern Ireland deserve 'quick certainty' - Hoarepublished at 19:29 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Simon Hoare in the House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament

    Simon Hoare, the chair of the Northern Ireland select committee, has just spoken in the Commons. He says the people of Northern Ireland deserve "quick certainty".

    He asks the PM whether he can commit that any votes which will take place in Parliament happen speedily for the "peace of mind for all who either live in Northern Ireland or wish it well".

    Sunak responds by saying he wants to start delivering the benefits of the deal for people in Northern Ireland "very quickly", but says there will be "time and space" for everyone to consider the detail of the bill.