Rishi Sunak has been briefing Boris Johnson behind the scenes on his new deal on Northern Ireland. Speaking to Radio 4, the Prime Minister admitted that “of course” he speaks to the former Prime Minister, amid reports that Mr Johnson may not be happy with the new Brexit deal. Mr Sunak signed the deal with the EU yesterday, saying it will “address the concerns” of people in Northern Ireland.
But it is thought Mr Johnson is considering a rebellion over the Brexit deal, with Politics Home reporting that former PM contacted Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Monday to ask them to “think hard” about backing it.
The DUP’s support is thought to be essential for Mr Sunak to proceed with the deal.
One of their P’s, Ian Paisley Jr, yesterday warned the deal “doesn’t cut the mustard”, while party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned, “there remain key issues of concern”.
Radio 4 Presenter Martha Kearney said: “Boris Johnson behind the scenes – we hear reports of he may not be altogether happy with this. Have you been briefing him about this?”
Mr Sunak responded: “Of course I speak to the former Prime Minister. But this is not about any of us. This is not about personalities.”
He added: “This is about the people of Northern Ireland and what’s best for them. And this agreement, the Windsor Framework, means that the issues that have been raised – the challenges that people felt – those can be and will be addressed.”
