UK-EU on verge of sealing Northern Ireland Protocol deal - Rishi Sunak to meet the European Commission president in the UK today

Rishi Sunak will meet the European Commission president in the UK today to discuss a “range of complex challenges” around the Brexit treaty, Downing Street has announced.

After the discussions with Ursula von der Leyen, the Conservative Party leader will brief his Cabinet before potentially announcing to voters and MPs the details of the deal that has been struck.

A meeting of the Cabinet will follow the leaders’ lunchtime talks, with a joint press conference with Mr Sunak and his Brussels counterpart on the cards afterwards should a pact to fix the issues with the protocol be agreed.

Downing Street said that should there be a breakthrough after months of negotiations, Mr Sunak will give a statement in the House of Commons.

All eyes will be on the DUP, which some pundits have said might be moving closer to approving a deal.

But Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the News Letter last night: “We have yet to see the legal text of any agreement, but we are clear that we will judge it against our seven tests and this includes of course the issues that arise from the application of EU law in Northern Ireland.

“It is vital that Northern Ireland's place within the UK and its internal market is restored. We will have lawyers assess the legal text to ensure that this in fact the case.”

While Downing Street has been tight-lipped about where the discussions between Mr Sunak and Ms von der Leyen will take place, the commission's online calendar suggests they will rendezvous at Windsor.

Ms von der Leyen had been due to travel to the UK on Saturday to speak to the prime minister and then have afternoon tea with the King at Windsor Castle before the plans were cancelled.

Meanwhile, the once-outspoken former North Down MP Robert McCartney has made what is now a rare political intervention, urging Sir Jeffrey to “make it absolutely clear that the DUP will not be a party to anything less than the full restoration of equal citizenship to the people of Northern Ireland”.