DUP unlikely to reach decision on revised Northern Ireland deal until April

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the revised Northern Ireland protocol deal at a press conference. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/AFP/Getty Images

The Democratic Unionist party is unlikely to make a decision on whether to support Rishi Sunak’s deal with the EU to revise the Northern Ireland protocol until April.

The party has just launched a consultation process with an eight-person panel including former party leaders, Lady Arlene Foster and Peter Robinson.