Windsor Framework debate: Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris says 'practical sovereignty restored' while DUP MP Jim Shannon says deal being 'shoved' through Parliament

Introducing a House of Commons debate on a statutory instrument related to the so-called Stormont brake, he said: “The Stormont brake is at the heart of the (Windsor) framework.

“It addresses the democratic deficit, restores the balance of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and ends the prospect of dynamic alignment.

“It restores practical sovereignty to the people of the United Kingdom as a whole, and to the people of Northern Ireland in particular.”

Conservative MP John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) said: “The Windsor Framework not only restores the balance of the Belfast Agreement, but also offers the province much greater prosperity by way of inward investment, and greater prosperity helps most situations.”

Mr Heaton-Harris referenced the approaching anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, and together with the new framework said he hoped it “will bring an age of prosperity to Northern Ireland like we’ve never seen before”.

Mark Francois asked the Northern Ireland Secretary to accept the Stormont brake is not a “veto” but a “route to arbitration”.

Intervening during Chris Heaton-Harris’s speech, the Conservative former minister and chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) told the Commons: “I fear today we will respectfully have to agree to disagree, but he has described the brake on multiple occasions, including in BBC interviews, as a veto.

“Given that if Stormont pulls it, UK ministers may still not exercise the brake in exceptional circumstances… and also given that even if they do, the EU can object and it’s referred to independent arbitration where the UK could lose, that is a route to arbitration, isn’t it?

“That is not a veto. Will he accept that?”

The Northern Ireland Secretary replied: “One, it is a veto. Two, it is a route to arbitration. And three, it removes any element of the ECJ (European Court of Justice) being relevant in this decision. So I think we have actually delivered on some of the things that he and I have campaigned on over the years.”

DUP MP Jim Shannon said the Windsor Framework was being “shoved” through Parliament and questioned the Conservatives’ commitment to the union.

The MP for Strangford called the deal the “Windsor knot”, adding: “The United Kingdom gives the EU sovereignty over the courts and power over Northern Ireland.

“It… is being shoved through the House by the Government – the Conservative and Unionist Party, with some dismay I actually question now, Conservative, and where is the unionist?

“And a format that doesn’t allow for scrutiny or due processes.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he fundamentally disagreed, saying: “I am a unionist. I’m very proud to be a unionist… I do believe that this is a massive step forward in both progress for Northern Ireland, but the union as a well.”

He added: “This actually adds to the democratic scrutiny that is available.”