Deputy Prime Minister says UK on ‘cusp’ of Northern Ireland Protocol deal

Dominic Raab has put Westminster on stand-by for a Northern Ireland Protocol deal to be announced after saying he expected a fresh pact to be signed off in “days, not weeks”.

The Deputy Prime Minister said there had been a “paradigm shift” in the approach from Brussels, hinting that talks had wielded changes on customs checks as well as dealing with Unionists’ concerns around Northern Ireland not having a say in EU rules that impact on the region.

Mr Raab, asked on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme whether a deal could be unveiled as soon as Monday, replied: “I think there is real progress.

“We want to make sure all the pieces are in place.

“I think, hopefully, there will be good news in a matter of days, not weeks.”

The Cabinet minister later told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “If we can get this over the line — we’re on the cusp, we’ve made great progress, we’re not there yet — this would be a really important deal.”

It comes as Rishi Sunak said his administration was “giving it everything we’ve got” to finalise a deal to fix issues with the protocol, a Brexit treaty negotiated by former prime minister Boris Johnson.

As Downing Street appeared to gear up for an announcement, Mr Sunak was warned by both Eurosceptic Conservatives on his backbenches and the Labour Party not to rush into calling a Parliament vote on his agreement.