James Cleverly refuses to say if DUP can scupper new Brexit deal
James Cleverly refused to say if the DUP has the power to scupper Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.
The Foreign Secretary was asked the question repeatedly during an interview on Sky News this morning but he repeatedly refused to answer.
He said: "If they don’t re-enter the powersharing executive that would be hugely disappointing. I think that won’t be good news for the people of Northern Ireland."
DUP must make sure Brexit deal 'matches' PM's promises - Sir Jeffrey Donaldson
The DUP must make sure that Rishi Sunak's Brexit promises "match" with what the Prime Minister's new deal with the EU actually says, the party's leader said this morning.
It was suggested to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his tone on the deal appeared to be "cautiously positive" but he refused to be drawn on that characterisation.
He said: "I have said that progress has been made. We continue to have some concerns. We will examine the legal text, we will look at all of this in the round and come to a decision.
"We are reasonable people but we want to ensure that what the Prime Minister has said is matched by what is actually in the agreement itself.
"Can it deliver on the areas of concern that we set out in our seven tests?"
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson suggests DUP will not be rushed into decision on PM's Brexit deal
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, suggested his party will not be rushed into making a decision on Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "We recognise that progress has been made across a number of areas about which we had concern… the impact the protocol had been having on businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland and our ability to access goods and our supply chains in Great Britain.
"I think that these proposals go some way to addressing those concerns but there remain some issues where we will continue to engage with the Government and we will take our time.
"As the Prime Minister said, this is a very complex agreement, we need to understand it, the legal text we only received yesterday afternoon so we are going to take time to study the legal text and get legal advice on it and then we will come to a conclusion on the agreement as a whole."