DUP leader Jeffery Donaldson warned that Mr Sunak will bed “judged” on the outcome of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiations, calling on Mr Sunak to “hold firm” on the UK’s position.
Rishi Sunak needs to “prove himself” on Brexit, a Northern Ireland MP has said, warning the EU may be trying to capitalise on the “chaos” which has rocked Westminster in recent months.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Mr Sunak, who took over from Liz Truss as Prime Minister last month, has “a lot of work to do” and a “tough job” ahead of him.
Mr Wilson said: “Heaton Harris, although he was a Brexiteer and former chairman of the ERG, seems to be decidedly coy on all the things whcih we thought he promised he was going to be black and white on and clear and had no ambiguity about.
“I suspect it’s the influence of the Northern Ireland office and his unwillingness to stand up to them. The Northern Ireland office’s goal is to keep Sinn Fein happy and keep the Department of foreign affairs in the Irish Republic happy.
“Although it’s meant to be a Government office, it acts almost independently and its acts as if it were detached from the British government. We’ve found this time and time again.”
The UK has been locked in talks with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol – which was agreed upon as part of the withdrawal agreement to avoid a hard border in Ireland post-Brexit – since October 2021.
It allows Northern Ireland to remain within the EU’s single market for goods but it has faced criticism because a border was effectively created between Great Britain and Northern Ireland down the Irish Sea.
Yesterday, Mr Heaton-Harris announced that the Government will be introducing legislation to extend the deadline for elections to the Stormont Assembly.
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Source: Sunak challenged to ‘prove himself’ on Brexit as EU ‘trying to capitalise on UK chaos’
