Sammy Wilson quits DUP chief whip role as divisions simmer within party

The East Antrim MP has been openly critical of the deal struck between his party and the government.

The position of chief whip would have required Mr Wilson to instil discipline within the party in the House of Commons on key issues – such as the Safeguarding the Union deal – however divisions on the DUP benches have been clear for weeks.

It is understood Mr Wilson stood down a number of days ago but no official announcement was made, and it is unclear who his successor will be.

The move is a further sign of divisions between DUP MPs in particular, over whether the deal has removed the Irish Sea border.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that what’s been achieved “takes away the border within the UK”.

When the deal was debated in the House of Commons there were tense exchanges between Sammy Wilson and his party leader.

Mr Wilson – one of the toughest internal opponents of the deal – said: “It is well known that I don’t support the deal. I have given reasons why not.” He said that legislation giving the EU the “final say” is still in place.

He also questioned the arrangements for the red lane – prompting a rebuke from his party leader.

Mr Donaldson, looking towards Mr Wilson on the Commons benches, said: “The red lane was endorsed by my party. The red lane was supported by my party. And every one of my MPs voted for that proposal.

“And that was my mandate. And it is what I secured. And that removes the Irish Sea border within our internal market of the United Kingdom. And it means that the only checks that we need to carry out are those on goods moving into or at risk of going into the European Union.”

He said he had gone further than the party’s response to the Windsor Framework in removing the green lane from the new arrangements.

The framework created a green and red lane for goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The green lane is now rebranded as the UK internal market system – a phrase also used in the framework.

Sir Jeffrey has said there will now be zero checks and zero paperwork for businesses using the arrangements.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart this week questioned the government on its commitment to remove checks. ‘Regulation 13’ of the Windsor Framework requires Northern Ireland authorities to carry out a certain percentage of identity checks on goods entering Northern Ireland through the UK internal market scheme lane. The legal requirement is currently for 8% identity checks, reduced to 5% later this year.

Mark Davies, the Director of the Windsor Framework Taskforce at the Cabinet Office, said the government would not be removing that piece of legislation.

Carla Lockhart said the deletion of the rule is important to ensure that the commitment to remove checks is actually followed through on. She put it to Mr Davies: “My understanding is that was to be dealt with. It was raised in the last debate on this and there was some discussion around it. So there’s not intention to delete regulation 13?”

The official said the UK government had put in place a number of things which govern the UK internal market scheme – but that would be still be “within the underpinning of a scheme that’s there to prevent abuse and for us to retain the ability to perform checks where they are necessary to avoid abuse, disease risks, criminality and smuggling”.

"It is important to know we’re not proposing to remove those fundamental underpinnings of how you can function a scheme – a set of schemes which have always been a thing we’ve advocated since 2021 and beyond as the means to operate a UK internal market system”.

A Humble Address to the King – part of the Safeguarding the Union deal – will be debated in Westminster on Monday. The symbolic message is expected to show support from both the government and Labour for the three-strands of the Belfast Agreement and the acts of union.

Given Mr Wilson’s resignation, all eyes will be on the DUP benches to see whether ongoing discontent bubbles to the surface.

​Mr Wilson, along with colleagues Lord Dodds and Lord Morrow have previously written in the News Letter saying that despite some welcome progress “fundamentally the Protocol/Windsor Framework is still intact and that the EU still holds a grip on significant areas of our economic life” and that “there is still a border in the Irish Sea”.

In an interview with UTV’s Tracy Magee this week, deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly – who was strongly in favour of the deal – declined to say that the Irish Sea border is gone.