Rishi Sunak has hailed his new Brexit deal with the EU to resolve issues with the Northern Ireland protocol as providing “a new way forward”, as he presented the agreement to the Commons.
The so-called Windsor Framework was earlier hailed as “historic” by the European Commission president, who insisted the deal marked a “new chapter” in UK-EU relations at a press conference with the prime minister.
It provides for the creation of a fast-tracked “green” lane for certain goods entering Northern Ireland, and hands the Northern Ireland Assembly a new “Stormont brake” which allows the UK government to “veto” changes to EU goods rules which may apply to Northern Ireland.
Ms von der Leyen had tea with the King at Windsor Castle on Monday evening, while Mr Sunak told the Commons: “It does what many said could not be done – removing thousands of pages of EU law, and making legally-binding changes to the protocol treaty itself.”
The PM is battling to win the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) so they agree to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland.
