No 10 gives DUP legal ‘assurances’ that Northern Ireland will remain in UK

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has called the latest deal with the EU ‘groundbreaking’. Photograph: Reuters

The government has promised to underline Northern Ireland’s place in the UK with legal “assurances” in an effort to convince unionists to back Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal.

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, said on Friday that the government would introduce legislation to allay Democratic Unionist party (DUP) concerns about the Windsor framework.