Rishi Sunak has been told he needs a “laser-like focus” in order to avoid being played by the European Union and deliver for Britain. The Prime Minister is currently in Belfast where he is meeting with stakeholders and politicians in the region as part of an attempt to iron out the final issues with the hated Northern Ireland protocol. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Ian Paisley Jr said Mr Sunak needs to “stand up to the EU” and “defend the union”.
While both Downing Street and EU leaders are thought to be edging closer to an agreement, members of Northern Ireland’s DUP have expressed concern over the reported deal.
Reports suggested the new deal would meet the DUP’s seven tests but MPs have cast doubt that any agreement would do so as a result of concerns that the European Court of Justice will maintain a role in policing the protocol.
Mr Paisley Jr told the Daily Express that nothing he has seen so far “offers the basis to restore power-sharing”.
He said “every effort” must be made for Mr Sunak to understand “just how serious a situation this part of the kingdom is in”.
Warning that the Prime Minister “requires laser-like focus to solve this problem”, the MP for North Antrim added: “He can’t leave a part of the U.K. annexed into a zone to protect the EU single market.”
Mr Paisley Jr continued: “That is not our job and he can’t leave part of the U.K. subordinate to EU legal jurisdiction.
“I suspect he has some distance to travel before he can reach a deal.”
The MP said he must now “stand up the EU” in order to “let them know he is taking singular action to maintain the kingdom and defend the union and all its people”.
READ MORE: Sunak warned by Eurosceptics as he takes surprise Belfast trip
The Government has stepped up its efforts to resolve issues with the protocol in recent months, in a dispute which has been ongoing since October 2021.
The Prime Minister is also set to meet EU Commission Vice President Ursula von der Leyen in the coming days, as the pair will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an international security conference, held in Munich.
Mr Sunak will head to Munich on Saturday alongside Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
The conference will be attended by EU leaders including German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron.
