We are very very disappointed with text of new Brexit deal: DUP MP Jim Shannon

Mr Shannon, the DUP MP for Strangford, said unionists in general are “very, very disappointed” following publication of the so-called Stormont brake legal text.​ It had been suggested by government that MLAs would have a mechanism to prevent the imposition of EU laws in the region.

In an interview with GB News yesterday, Mr Shannon explained the thinking behind the DUP's announcement that the party will vote against the Windsor Framework in the House of Commons this week. “Well, the first problem is it’s quite clear: the so-called Stormont brake – we do not see anything legally binding within that,” he said.

“We're seeking legal opinion, we’ll have that at the end of this week. When we have that, we’ll have a better idea whether the Stormont brake actually means something within the Windsor Framework. We feel it doesn’t. With that being the case, we're very, very disappointed that the UK Government is pushing ahead with this in the Commons on Wednesday, when they know that they haven't physically contacted us in any way.”

During the discussion with Mark Longhurst of GB News Live, Mr Shannon said his party had “made many overtures” to the government in relation to the Stormont brake. “We’ve made overtures about the constitutional position of Northern Ireland, we've made overtures about the European Court of Justice, plus a myriad of other issues.

“Now that the Prime Minister has consistently said he will try to address these issues, well he hasn't, and he's pushing ahead when he knows that we haven't been convinced what the Stormont brake actually means." He said the issue is over whether the Westminster Government would back the Stormont assembly in the event of a dispute with the EU.

Mr Shannon added: “If there ever was any credibility and a legal binding agreement in the Stormont brake that meant the 30 MLAs could stop things, that's worth looking at legally. We want to make sure that it's legally binding, that it means something, and at this moment in time we're not convinced of that.”