Pressure on Rishi Sunak to come before committee and explain his Windsor Framework as report affirms that Union is being damaged and TUV accuses him of ‘hiding’

The House of Commons’ European Scrutiny Committee  said that it originally hoped the Prime Minister would have appeared today, but that he had declined, blaming the non-appearance on a busy schedule.

He has also been offered alternative dates of either Thursday 16 or Friday March 17.

The committee is made up of eight Tories, five Labour MPs, one SNP MP, one independent one, and one from the DUP (Gavin Robinson).

Its chairman is Tory Sir Bill Cash, who has in the past been closely connected with the European Research Group or ERG.

Specifically, the committee wants the Prime Minister to answer questions about the "extent of EU law that would remain applicable in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework”, how the Stormont Brake and the red-and-green lanes at ports would actually work, and “how, if at all, the Windsor Framework alters the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice over the entirety of the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

The committee restated today that it has "longstanding concerns” about the current Protocol status quo.

Chiefly, these are that “the application of EU law in Northern Ireland… is not compatible with the UK’s sovereignty outside of the EU”, that “alignment in NI with EU rules is leading to regulatory divergence with Great Britain, which is damaging the territorial integrity of the Union”, and that “people and business in NI are subject to EU rules, the form and application of which they have no real influence or say over”.

••• TORY-DOMINATED COMMITTEE VOICES DISPLEASURE WITH SUNAK •••

In a report issued by the committee today, its MPs say: "We are disappointed with the Prime Minister’s decision not to appear before us.

"We did not take the decision to invite the Prime Minister to give evidence lightly and recognise and appreciate the demands on his time.

"This having been said, the deal the Prime Minister has negotiated with the EU is, to date, one of the most consequential developments in the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

"We appreciate the hard work and determination of the Government – and officials – to reach a positive outcome on Northern Ireland Protocol negotiations.

"We say this without prejudice to our views on the content of the Windsor Framework...

“Appearing before us would have provided the Prime Minister with an opportunity to discharge what we consider to be his obligation to the House to subject the Windsor Framework to close and detailed parliamentary scrutiny...

“The Prime Minister briefing us and providing cogent and compelling answers to questions on recent developments would have strengthened the Government’s position that Members (of all political parties) should vote to approve the Windsor Framework when it is put to the House.

"It has subsequently been confirmed that the Prime Minister will appear before the Liaison Committee on March 28.

"We value the work of the Liaison Committee, of which our chair is a member.

"The Liaison Committee was not, however, constituted to inquire into matters relating to EU law and policy, as we explicitly were.”

••• SUNAK ‘IS RUNNING AWAY FROM QUESTIONS’ •••

The TUV issued a statement this afternoon from TUV Knockagh council candidate James Strange, saying:

"In the coming days, Unionists can expect a renewed effort to sell the Windsor Whitewash as a basis to return to Stormont and enthrone Sinn Fein’s Michelle O'Neill as First Minister.

"They would be wise to ignore such efforts and look at the cold, hard facts.

"Few are more telling than the fact that the Prime Minister has gone into hiding when faced with the prospect of some very telling questions about his deal.

“In a damning report published today the House of Commons EU scrutiny committee blasts the Prime Minister for failing to appear before them

" They wanted to quiz him about the deal he announced to such fanfare just a few weeks ago.

“We now have a situation where the Prime Minister is refusing to answer basic questions...

“The Prime Minister is quite happy to do softball interviews with media outlets which themselves have a transparent agenda to assist his sales pitch.

"When faced with the prospect of a proper grilling on matters of key constitutional importance he runs away.

"That should tell any unionist all they need to know about the Windsor Whitewash.”

Breaking news this afternoon:

• Windsor Framework 'does not solve our fundamental problems with Protocol and needs to be changed' says DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in major statement during US visit