Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg says Windsor Framework has made Northern Ireland Protocol problems 'firmer'

The so-called Stormont brake, designed to give a veto over the imposition of new EU rules in Northern Ireland, was passed comfortably by 515 votes to 29 on Wednesday.

The former business secretary told TalkTV his reasoning for voting against the Stormont brake on Wednesday. The measure is intended to give Stormont a formal input into whether new EU legislation will apply to it or not.

“I think this puts a solidified border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” he said.

“I think it takes the unfortunate elements of the protocol and makes them firmer rather than allowing us to move away from it.

“I think the green lane being at the discretion of the European Union, decided under EU laws within our own country, so how you trade between GB and Northern Ireland is decided by laws applied by the European Union, is the wrong way to be going about it.”

Mr Rees-Mogg denied that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had oversold his deal, however, saying: “Putting a favourable gloss on what you are saying is routine, it is the bread and butter of politics.”

Meanwhile Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today welcomed the “broad support” for his new deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland in Wednesday’s Commons vote.

Speaking during a visit to North Wales, Mr Sunak said: “I was really pleased yesterday that there was very strong support for the Windsor Framework and that is because it is the right deal for Northern Ireland.

“It is good for families, for people, for businesses, for communities across Northern Ireland.

“It restores the balance in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, it secures Northern Ireland’s place in our precious Union and makes sure Northern Ireland has proper sovereignty.”