Boris Johnson was urged to let Rishi Sunak to “get on” with resolving the impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol on Monday as the prime minster races to win backing for his Brexit deal.
Senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, a prominent Brexiteer, warned that any agreement on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland without the agreement of the Democratic Unionist Party would be set to fail.
But after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched an intervention at the weekend, warning Mr Sunak not to ditch UK legislation which overrides the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, Sir Bernard said: “I would have thought the best thing would be to let the Prime Minister get on with this.”
He added on Times Radio: “The most important thing at the front of the Prime Minister’s mind is yes, we must compromise. Yes, we must get a deal. Yes, we must do everything we can to sort this out.
“But if it doesn’t get the support of both the communities in Northern Ireland, it’s probably just going to make things worse, because it will cement in place an agreement that has destroyed power sharing.”
Asked if a deal without the DUP is a “non-starter”, Sir Bernard said: “Well, yes, because the DUP are the main representative of all the Unionist parties in Northern Ireland. There is not a single member of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, representing a Unionist Party that supports the protocol.”
“Now I recognise this progress being made in the negotiations and so does the DUP. But unless we can get some fundamental principles sorted out, then there won’t be power sharing, and we can’t have an agreement with the EU.”
Mr Sunak is facing his biggest political test since becoming prime minister last October as he presses to unveil a deal to fix issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol - part of the 2019 Brexit deal which avoids the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland by establishing checks on some goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Hard right “ultras” in the Conservative Party and unionists, most motably the DUP, oppose the Protocol, arguing it drves a wedge between Great Britain and the region, creating costly checks and bureaucracy for businesses.
The compromiose deal drawn up by UK and EU negotiators would see the vast majority of trade checks on goods moving between GB and NI removed with more stringent checks maintained for goods going on to the Republic of Ireland.
But hard liners and the DUP are concerned about the EU’s insistence on the ultimate oversight of the European Court of Justice.
It is understood Mr Sunak’s officials held talks with their Brussels counterparts on Sunday on how to give local politicians a greater say in the application of EU law in the region, addressing what unionists call the “democratic deficit”.
Downing Street said talks are ongoing to reach an agreement with the EU and denied reports suggesting the Prime Minister has been forced to delay an announcement - widely expected as early as this week.
But pressure on Mr Sunak is mounting after his predecessor-but-one made a weekend intervention calling for him to take a tougher line with the EU.
A source close to Mr Johnson said his view was that “it would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill” - which would empower the UK to unilaterally scrap parts of the treaty.
Former Treasury Minister Simon Clarke, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “It’s absolutely vital - and this is really my key message this morning - we should press on with our bill to fix the Protocol here in Westminster because it’s absolutely imperative tactically, to give our negotiators the strongest possible hand to play with Brussels, but also because the protocol legislation may well be the cleanest way to fix this problem.”
A senior Government official indicated that a successful outcome would mean the controversial legislation - tabled at Westminster under Mr Johnson’s leadership but paused when Mr Sunak entered No 10 - would no longer be needed.
Mr Johnson’s intervention - his first on Brexit since departing No 10 - has raised concerns over a potential rebellion by Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers if Mr Sunak’s changes are put to a vote in Parliament. The Guardian reported as many as 100 Tory MPs could be prepared to rebel over the deal, although it is not clear it would need to be put to a Commons vote as the changes could be introduced via a so-called Command Paper.
Tory backbenchers in the European Research Group will reportedly meet on Tuesday to discuss any deal, potentially spelling trouble for Mr Sunak if they are angered by concessions made by the UK.
