Tory Brexit hardliners mulling response to Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal

theguardian.com:

Hardline Brexiters who were threatening to rebel over Rishi Sunak’s new deal with the EU will decide how to respond at a meeting on Tuesday night, while a key Boris Johnson ally has hit out those already “gushing” at the agreement.

In a sign he was willing to face down his critics, the prime minister said MPs would get a vote “at the appropriate time” on the details of his agreement to overhaul arrangements in Northern Ireland on customs and jurisdiction over EU law, known as the Windsor framework.

There was no rush by Conservative backbenchers or the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) to embrace or denounce the deal, with both groups expected to take several days to decide how to respond.

But the threat of a critical intervention by Johnson remains, given Sunak was expected to drop a controversial bill introduced under the former prime minister that would have overridden the old protocol.

Some of the old Brexit “Spartans” who helped bring down Theresa May over her deal in 2019 are now part of the government, including Steve Baker. He gave a thumbs up after leaving Downing Street on Sunday night, which was taken as a sign of approval of Sunak’s agreement, formally unveiled the following day.

The former culture secretary Nadine Dorries hit out at Baker for “gushing about the deal”, claiming he was a “key agitator” who helped to remove Johnson from Downing Street last July. She said: “What shred of credibility he has left would be destroyed if he came out against Sunak. He has nowhere else to go other than to grin and support.”

Johnson has urged Sunak not to drop his protocol bill, which drew a legal challenge from the EU. But the prime minister is facing pressure to do so from senior European leaders, including from the French