A minister repeatedly refused to say if she would resign over Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal for Northern Ireland on Tuesday as the Prime Minister faces a growing backlash from Eurosceptic Tory MPs.
Health Minister Maria Caulfield, who quit Theresa May’s government in July 2018 over the then Prime Minister’s so-called Chequers Brexit compromise plan, was asked on LBC if she would tend her resignation again over Mr Sunak’s deal.
She replied: “I think there’s a lot of speculation. There isn’t a deal on the table at the moment, so I haven’t seen a deal. But the Prime Minister is negotiating because the Northern Ireland protocol is not working for Northern Ireland right now.
“We know that it’s separated from the rest of the United Kingdom in a number of ways, thanks to the protocol and that needs to be addressed. And that’s why the Prime Minister is making this a priority area.”
Asked on Times Radio whether the current situation could be the same as the Chequers revolt in 2018, Ms Caulfield said: “Personally, I think we, you know, we need to get on and we’ve got such difficulties in this country at the moment.”
She added: “I’m not quite sure what people are resigning over because a deal hasn’t been done. Let’s wait and see what the final deal looks like.
“I was in parliament yesterday, I was meeting with ministerial colleagues. It was not the first thing that we were talking about, and so I’m not sure that the speculation actually matches the reality of what’s happening in Parliament at the moment.”
Mr Sunak is battling to win support from pro-Brexit “ultras” on the right of his party and Unionist politicians for a compromise deal with Brussels to end the long running impasse over trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister was reported to be preparing to announce the deal early this week following a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday morning.
But the timing of the announcement looks to be slipping amid speculation that some members of Mr Sunak’s Government could be prepared to quit over the deal unless it has the support of the Democratic Unionist Party.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a hard line Brexiteeer, hinted at tensions within Mr Sunak’s Cabinet on Monday when she warned the Prime Minister not to abandon legislation currently going through parliament to override parts of the protocol.
In arguably his biggest political test since becoming prime minister, Mr Sunak is aiming to fix the protocol, which avoids the need for a hard border in Ireland by introducing checks on some goods travelling between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland.
Hard right Tory MPs and the DUP oppose the protocol, arguing it drives a wedge between the two and creates costly red tape for businesses.
The deal, drawn up by UK and EU negotiators, would remove the majority of trade checks between GB and NI with more stringent checks maintained for goods going on to Ireland.
But hardliners and the DUP are concerned about the EU’s insistence on the ultimate oversight of the European Court of Justice on trade disputes which they say undermines UK sovereignty.
Mr Sunak met with Northern Ireland political leaders last Friday before going on to meet EU chiefs at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend in a bid to tie up loose ends on a deal which he had hoped to unveil this week.
