ishi Sunak said his government is “giving everything we’ve got” to strike a deal to resolve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, but insists no pact has been reached yet.
The Prime Minister said he hoped for a “positive outcome” in talks with the European Union as Westminster braces for the unveiling of a protocol with a new look.
Mr. Sunak is keen to ensure that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is on the side of its final deal as it seeks to restore the balance of power in Northern Ireland.
The DUP, along with Sinn Fein, are refusing to join Stormont’s devolved government in protest at the impact the Brexit treaty is having on trade between Northern Ireland and Britain.
The party has issued seven tests that Mr Sunak’s pact will have to meet in order to gain its support, including addressing what it calls Northern Ireland’s “democratic deficit” which is subject to EU rules when it has no say has left.
Mr. Sunak, talking to The Sunday times newspaper, promised that “everything we do will tick all these boxes” in terms of Unionist concerns.
A protocol deal seems to be almost announced for almost a week.
And after No. 10 said “good progress” had been made during a Friday talk between the Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyena breakthrough seemed imminent.
However, a plan for Mrs Von der Leyen to travel to Britain on Saturday to meet Mr Sunak and then have afternoon tea with the King at Windsor Castle was scrapped on Friday night.
Downing Street has since said “intensive” talks are underway between London and Brussels.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday that talks between the UK and the EU are “hardly coming to an end” while calling on all parties to “move a step further” to conclude negotiations.
The prime minister told The Sunday Times he continued to press for a final deal with the bloc.
“I’m here all weekend to get it done,” he told the paper.
“We give everything we have.”
He admitted there were examples of “where it feels that Northern Ireland is not part of the Union” and that the protocol left the Good Friday Agreement, which helped end Northern Ireland’s troubles, “unbalanced brought”.
Referring to the example of not being able to implement reforms to the excise duty on alcohol in Northern Ireland when he was chancellor – as the protocol dictates that it falls under the EU’s internal market rules for excise duty – Mr Sunak pledged to work to meet the demands of the Unionists with every deal he lands.
“I’m a Conservative, I’m a Brexiteer and I’m a trade unionist and everything we do will tick all those boxes otherwise it wouldn’t make sense to me let alone anyone else,” he told The Sunday . Time.
Several reports have suggested a UK-EU deal is all but finalized – with Mr Sunak delaying an announcement until he is confident it will be accepted.
No 10 denies that, but reports suggest Sunak has made concessions that will ease the flow of trade between Northern Ireland and Britain – a major scare for Unionists.
Trusted traders from the UK to Northern Ireland are reportedly not required to undergo checks as part of the plans, while VAT rates, taxes and state aid policies are all set by Westminster rather than Brussels as part of the offer on the table.
The Prime Minister has also reportedly negotiated a way for the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast to have pre-legislative scrutiny of new EU laws in a bid to tackle the so-called “democratic deficit”.
According to The Sun On Sunday, Mr Sunak will invite cabinet ministers to No 10 on Sunday to brief them on the details of what he has secured so far.
Downing Street will anxiously await Boris Johnson’s opinion on the new terms, with former Prime Minister Sunak recently pleading not to drop his Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would unilaterally override parts of the treaty.
The Sunday Times reported that Mr Johnson, called upon to support what Mr Sunak is coming back to appease the White House, responded by saying, “F*** the Americans.”
A source close to Mr Johnson told PA: “This was a funny conversation in the room that someone apparently misunderstood.
“That’s not the kind of language he would use.”
New speculation about a new pact comes after Downing Street drew criticism over the proposed meeting between EU leader Ms von der Leyen and the king.
It is said that No. 10 intended to label Mr Sunak’s deal as the “Windsor Agreement” if the German politician had been content signing a deal while in Britain.
Sammy Wilson, a DUP MP, accused the Prime Minister of “dragging the King into a hugely controversial political issue”.
A British government source said it would not have been inappropriate for the king to meet with a visiting European leader.
The source told PA news agency it was “wrong to suggest that the king is involved in anything remotely political”.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.