Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has arrived in Northern Ireland for crunch talks in an attempt to reach an agreement on the dreaded Brexit protocol. He will hold talks with Stormont leaders.
The protocol will be announced next week, possibly as early as Tuesday if the final issues can be resolved. While Downing Street and EU leaders are thought to be close to a deal, members of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party have expressed concern about the reported agreement.
Political leaders are expected to engage in 48 hours of intense diplomacy as they work on the agreement.
Downing Street confirmed that Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Prime Minister Theresa May had travelled to Belfast for the talks.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “Whilst talks with the EU are ongoing, ministers continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure any solution fixes the practical problems on the ground, meets our overarching objectives, and safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market.
“The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland are travelling to Northern Ireland this evening to speak to political parties as part of this engagement process.”
In the coming days, the Prime Minister will also meet Ursula von der Leyen in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich.
On Saturday, Mr Sunak will travel to Munich with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
EU leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the conference.