A summary of today's developments
Rishi Sunak told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) the “time and space” to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it was the best offer they would get. The prime minister said he was “confident” the DUP would back it as he urged colleagues not to create another “Westminster drama” after his new Windsor agreement for Northern Ireland was broadly welcomed. But Conservatives were waiting with “bated breath” to see if the DUP would back the deal which is hoped will restore power sharing to Stormont after a year-long absence, according to Steve Baker MP. Sunak, who addressed Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee in the Commons after a visit to Northern Ireland, was understood to have told colleagues he had “spent a lot of time” with the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, as he seeks to break the deadlock in the region.
Peter Robinson, the former DUP leader and former first minister of Northern Ireland, has urged his party colleagues to take their time deciding whether or not to support the PM’s protocol deal. Rishi Sunak has told Tory MPs to give the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) the “time and space” to consider his Brexit deal as they were warned it is the best offer they will get.
As Suzanne Breen reports in the Belfast Telegraph, Robinson provided his advice in a post on Facebook in which he did not declare himself to be for or against the deal.
The SNP has said Rishi Sunak’s comments today about Northern Ireland getting the advantage of unfettered access to the UK market and the EU single market (see 9.07am and 11.11am) shows that Scotland is losing out. In a response, Alyn Smith MP, the SNP’s Europe and EU accession spokesperson, said: “Rishi Sunak is moonlighting as a remainer as he perfectly outlines how Scotland will be at a competitive disadvantage under Westminster control and outside the European Union.”
At an Onward event to debate the future of the Conservative party in central London, Michael Gove suggested that parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly could have their child benefit payments stopped. The levelling up secretary suggested the idea, which was originally considered by the coalition government under David Cameron but blocked by the Liberal Democrats, could now be reconsidered to help restore “an ethic of responsibility”.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, has rejected claims the king was drawn into political matters when meeting the European Commission president after a new Brexit deal was agreed.
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said Rishi Sunak’s comments this morning about Northern Ireland benefiting from being in the EU single market (see 9.07am and 11.11am) did not mean he thought the whole of the UK should be in it.
That’s all from us today. Thank you again for following along – here’s our end-of-day story:
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An MP received “faeces through their letterbox” after a political row over the Conservatives’ response to sewage discharges, parliament has heard.
Tory Simon Jupp hit out at the Liberal Democrats for “accusing Conservative MPs of voting to pollute our waters and seas”, which he said was “ridiculous” and had led to “colleagues facing threats and abuse in the street”.
He described how an MP “recently received faeces through their letterbox as a result of this politics”.
Lib Dem environment spokesperson Tim Farron told PA: “This kind of behaviour is completely abhorrent and no MP or staff should have to put up with it. I feel for Simon and his staff as I too have been on the receiving end of abusive behaviour.
“However, it is not right to blame people who are holding the government to account for their actions.
“Millions of people across the country have voiced their dismay at sewage being dumped into rivers and coastlines, and the Liberal Democrats have been championing their cause.
“The basic fact is that Conservative MPs have voted to allow water companies to discharge sewage into rivers. Community groups, swimmers and political parties have held Conservative MPs to account in a sensible and grown-up manner. This is the way public debate should be conducted.”
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