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. Sunak says medicines agreement is landmark dealpublished at 18:51 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sunak says the Windsor Framework now safeguards the supply of medicines in Northern Ireland - the UK medicines regulator will approve all new drugs and there will be no role for the EU's medicines agency.

    The PM describes this - and the end of "burdensome checks" on new medicines - as a "landmark deal for patients" in Northern Ireland.

  2. Deal 'protects Northern Ireland's place in UK'published at 18:50 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sunak says the deal agreed with the EU protects Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom - something, he says, the Northern Ireland protocol failed to do.

    "To preserve the balance of the Good Friday agreement we also need to protect Northern Ireland's place in our union," he says.

    He tells MPs the Windsor Framework makes sure Northern Ireland gets the "benefit of being a part of the union in every respect".

    He says changes made to VAT by the government will now apply to Northern Ireland as well as the rest of the UK.

    He adds that today's deal will implement new safeguards if the EU claims Northern Ireland is infringing the bloc's rules.

  3. Big changes for food industrypublished at 18:46 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    We've also heard the PM repeat his pledge that the new agreement means any food product available in Great Britain supermarkets will be available in Northern Ireland too.

    He says the protocol as it stood meant "more delays, more costs and less choice", leaving importers needing to fill out hundreds of customs documents.

    This will be replaced by one simple digital declaration, he said, and visual inspections will be slashed.

    A new scheme to label some "high risk" food products as "not for EU" will be phased in soon to make sure they don't slip through the cracks of the new green lane system, he says.

    There was a big reaction when the PM said the trade of sausages - which has been a particular bone of contention - will no longer be disrupted.

  4. PM cheered as he says deal has 'removed border in Irish Sea'published at 18:44 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sunak's still giving his statement, and he's moved onto the topic of parcels - which we heard a lot about earlier.

    He lists some of the issues that existed under the protocol and says the new deal - the Windsor Framework - fixes "all of them", including abolishing a requirement for EU customs codes.

    "We have delivered what the people of Northern Ireland asked for," he says, adding: "We have removed the border in the Irish Sea".

    This is met with lots of cheers from the Conservative benches.

  5. Sunak says deal fulfils UK's main objectivespublished at 18:40 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Rishi Sunak in the House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament

    Sunak again stresses the three main objectives of the deal from the UK's point of view.

    He says these are ensuring free trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, protecting Northern Ireland's place within the Union, and safeguarding sovereignty by closing "the democratic deficit".

    He reiterates that the deal removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea.

  6. Deal will 'chart new way forward'published at 18:40 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sunak says the Northern Ireland protocol had "undermined" the Good Friday Agreement and balance of power-sharing.

    He tells MPs the Windsor Framework will "chart a new way forward".

    He pays tribute to negotiators in the EU, including EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

    There is laughter and jeers from MPs on opposition benches as Sunak pays tribute to his predecessors for "laying the groundwork" for the agreement.

  7. Sunak: Time to move forward as one United Kingdompublished at 18:34 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sunak begins by paying tribute to Betty Boothroyd, the former Commons speaker whose death was announced earlier today.

    To the order of business, the PM tells a packed Commons chamber that the government has today made a "decisive breakthrough".

    He says the changes announced today to the Northern Ireland Protocol, mean the Union can now "move forward as one United Kingdom".

    Northern Ireland Brexit deal: At-a-glance

  8. PM begins address to Commonspublished at 18:29 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Rishi Sunak in the House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament

    The prime minister is up at the despatch box, beginning his statement to MPs about new Northern Ireland post-Brexit arrangements.

    He said earlier that a House of Commons vote will eventually be called - but only after everyone's had ample time to read the document in full.

    For now, stay tuned for what he has to say this evening.

  9. Stormont brake 'in the boot and impossible to reach'published at 18:29 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    The DUP has said it will not be rushed when it comes to making a decision on the new deal.

    But that hasn't stopped some from airing their views.

    Ian Paisley Jr, a DUP MP and son of party founder Ian Paisley Sr, says the deal does "not cut the mustard" for the restoration of devolved government and calls on Rishi Sunak to go back into talks with the EU.

    He says the "brake" is "in the boot of the car under the spare wheel and is impossible to reach".

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  10. Sunak to speak in Commons shortlypublished at 18:26 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    In about five minutes, we're expecting to hear PM Rishi Sunak tell parliament about his new Brexit deal with the EU, concerning trade in Northern Ireland.

    We heard from Sunak earlier at a press conference, alongside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, where he outlined the new plans - called the Windsor Framework.

    This'll be the first statement he makes to MPs about it, with questions expected to follow.

    Stay with us for live updates throughout. You can watch live by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

  11. Analysis

    Stormont brake an enticement for DUP to return to governmentpublished at 18:23 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Damian Grammaticas
    Political correspondent

    On the face of it, the new Stormont brake appears to provide a potentially important new power for Northern Ireland’s politicians to have a say in the rules that govern them.

    This has been a key ask, one of the DUP’s seven tests. But it is a limited power.

    The brake can only be applied through the Assembly, so the DUP could only use it if they allow Northern Ireland’s institutions to get back up and running and get another party to agree with them - an enticement for the DUP to return to Stormont.

    It’s being described as giving the UK an “unequivocal veto”, and one not subject to oversight by the European Court of Justice either.

    But some are already pointing out that it is a limited power, only applying to new rules and with constraints.

    And there is a safeguard for the EU. If blocking a new regulation means rules in Northern Ireland start to diverge significantly from those across the border in the Republic of Ireland, to the extent there would be an “impact” on that market, the EU has the power to take “appropriate remedial measures".

    Is this enough for those worried about sovereignty such as the DUP? We’ll see.

  12. Sunak hails 'Stormont brake' on new EU rulespublished at 18:21 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    We have been studying the Windsor Framework and will be explaining what key parts of it mean.

    A major concern of the DUP has been what has been described as a "democratic deficit" - their fear that Northern Ireland's politicians will not have sufficient say on new EU rules being imposed in Northern Ireland.

    At his news conference in Windsor, PM Rishi Sunak was keen to highlight an emergency "Stormont brake" on changes to EU goods regulations that can be pulled by the Northern Ireland Assembly:

    • The process would be triggered if 30 MLAs (representatives in the Stormont Assembly) from two or more parties signed a petition
    • A 14-day consultation period would follow, after which, if 30 MLAs still supported it, there would be a vote in the assembly
    • To pass, it would need support from both unionists and nationalist representatives
    • The brake could not be used for "trivial reasons", but is reserved for "significantly different" rules
    • Once the UK tells the EU the brake has been triggered, the rule can not be implemented. It can be applied only if the UK and EU agree.

    The PM said this was a "very powerful mechanism" for Stormont to use when it had concerns over EU law, and amounted to a "veto" for the Westminster government.

  13. Analysis

    Palpable relief but sceptics will need to be won overpublished at 18:09 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    After months of negotiations and plenty of noisy speculation, it was a day of very careful choreography.

    A lunchtime meeting at a posh hotel near Windsor, close to where Magna Carta was sealed in 1215, which set a limit to the powers of the King and his government.

    This gathering, centuries later, also about the demarcation of power: between the UK and the EU.

    At the news conference that followed in Windsor’s Guildhall, a notable warmth between the leaders.

    The relief in the demeanour of both was obvious, in both doing a deal and attempting to reset relations between London and Brussels.

    Privately, senior government figures are confident they can win around sceptics within the Conservative Party and beyond.

    But that jeopardy still hangs in the air tonight. Deals have been done before between the UK and the EU, only to be rejected at home.

    The real test of this deal will be whether the Democratic Unionist Party, in time, accept it and return to power sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland. That is the marker of true success here.

  14. CBI boss praises breakthrough dealpublished at 17:58 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    The head of the UK's biggest business group has weighed in on the the UK and EU delivering the long-awaited Northern Ireland Brexit deal.

    Tony Danker, director-general of the the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which represents 190,000 UK businesses, congratulated both sides for "resolving the deadlock over the protocol and delivering an historic deal".

    Echoing Rishi Sunak's sell earlier, Danker referred to the deal as a "breakthrough" and said it'd help people in Northern Ireland stop feeling as though life "has been on hold for the past couple of years".

    “Business stands ready to work with all stakeholders moving forward. Work to understand and successfully implement new arrangements should start immediately," he added.

  15. Martin praises deal as response to unionist concernspublished at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Irish deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, Micheál Martin, says the agreement between the EU and the UK is "very welcome" and is a result of "genuine engagement and listening to concerns raised by citizens and business in Northern Ireland".

    He tweeted, external: "I heard first-hand the concerns of many unionists. I believe they will see in this a genuine response to their genuine concerns."

    Martin - like Sunak - stresses that he knows some time will be needed to consider the deal, but urges Northern Irish politicians to "act quickly".

    The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar agreed that the announcement is "most welcome" and the result of a "long and difficult process to find joint solutions."

  16. WATCH: Sinn Féin is working through details of the dealpublished at 17:34 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill welcomes the conclusion of talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol but says her party - the largest in the Northern Ireland Assembly - still needs to examine the details of the deal.

    She repeats her call for the Democratic Unionist Party to return to devolved government at Stormont, which it has been boycotting in protest against the Protocol.

    "I welcome the fact a deal has been done, we always said that with pragmatism, solutions could be found," O'Neill says.

    Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald says the onus now falls on the DUP to end its boycott of Stormont to deliver for people in Northern Ireland.

    “People in the north have had enough of political theatrics and deadlock," she says.

  17. How will the Stormont brake work?published at 17:27 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    Reality Check

    A big question following the announcement in Windsor is how the so-called Stormont brake will work.

    The idea is that if there is a change to EU regulations that the elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly do not like, they can vote to pull the emergency brake and that will allow the UK government to veto the change.

    But the brake could only be used if the changes would have "significant and lasting effects on everyday lives" of people in Northern Ireland. Who would decide? It could well be the European Court of Justice, which would not be popular with unionists.

    And it is unclear what would happen if the veto was used.

  18. The deal at a glancepublished at 17:22 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    We're making our way through details of the Windsor Framework that's been announced today - here are some of the main things we know about the agreement:

    • Green Lane/Red Lane: Goods from Great Britain for Northern Ireland will travel through a new "green lane", with a separate "red lane" for goods that might travel on to the EU
    • Pets, parcels and medicines: Customs requirements on parcels and moving pets will be removed, and medicines approved for use by the UK regulator will be available in Northern Ireland as well
    • VAT: Under the new deal, Sunak says the UK can make "critical VAT" changes which include Northern Ireland. Under the old arrangement, EU VAT rules could apply
  19. DUP: We need to look at the detailpublished at 17:17 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023
    Breaking

    Some more reaction to bring you now and this time from DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donadson who says his party will take time to look over the detail of the agreement.

    The DUP are Northern Ireland's largest unionist party and have been boycotting the NI power-sharing government over existing trading arrangements set out in the NI Protocol.

    In a statement, Sir Jeffrey reiterates the seven tests the DUP previously outlined on which any fresh deal would be judged.

    He says:

    • "Significant progress" has been secured across a number of areas but says "key issues of concern" remain
    • There can be no disguising the fact in some sectors of Northern Ireland's economy EU law remains applicable
    • The DUP will study the detail of what has been published and all underpinning legal texts
    • Where necessary the DUP is ready to engage with the government in order to seek further clarification, re-working or change as required.
  20. NI Protocol Bill droppedpublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February 2023

    We're looking through the Windsor Framework documents to scope out the details of what this new deal means.

    One line that stood out is that the government has confirmed it is ditching the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, the controversial legislation drafted under Boris Johnson that would have given the UK the power to tear up the old protocol deal.

    It was passed by MPs last summer, but its passage through parliament was put on hold while the latest negotiations were ongoing.

    A legal opinion published by the government says that the Windsor Framework means there is now "no legal justification" for going ahead with it.