Sunak And Von Der Leyen To Hold 'Final Talks' On Revised Brexit Deal

Sunak and Von der Leyen to hold 'final talks' on revised Brexit deal

- Peter Walker

Rishi Sunak is to hold a Brexit summit with the president of the European Commission today to sign off a revised deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

In what could be the most perilous week of his political life, the prime minister will meet Ursula von der Leyen in the early afternoon for what No 10 has billed as “final talks”.

He will then face the daunting task of selling the deal to hardline Conservative Brexiters and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party (DUP), who issued renewed warnings over the weekend that they would not be bounced into accepting something that did not meet their red lines.

While Downing Street sources insisted there were still matters that needed consideration by Sunak and Von der Leyen, the widespread assumption is that the meeting will rubber stamp a revision to Boris Johnson’s protocol for post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.

The deal is not expected to radically change the way Northern Ireland trades with the EU via the Irish border, or with the rest of the UK, but will implement systems to ease checks across the Irish Sea, a feature of Johnson’s plan that has enraged the DUP and many Tories.

Sunak is due to host a cabinet meeting this afternoon before a likely joint press conference with Von der Leyen. He would then update the Commons, where he will begin what is likely to be an extremely tough political sell.

While both Tory Brexiters and the DUP have said they will only give a verdict on the revised protocol when they have read the final and full text, which might not be published until later in the week, No 10 is braced for a response that is at best suspicious and potentially hostile.