DUP poised to reject government's Stormont Brake deal with European Union , report suggests

MPs are due to debate the Stormont Brake element of the Windsor Framework agreement on Wednesday.

The DUP is refusing to re-enter the power-sharing executive at Stormont while the current trading arrangements treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Mr Sunak remains hopeful that the Stormont Brake – which allows members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to block EU regulations being imposed in NI in specific circumstances – will be enough for the DUP to back the deal.

However, the Sunday Telegraph is reporting a senior DUP source as saying: “I would fully expect that we will be voting against that statutory instrument,” due to “fundamental issues still outstanding”.

The DUP stance has raised concerns in Downing Street that a number of Eurosceptic Tory MPs will support follow their lead.

The European Research Group has yet to announce its collective position on the Windsor Framework, but a number of its members are expected to vote against the government.

The source said the government should not be treating one element of the Windsor Framework in isolation.

“The vote has been brought forward without the necessary information and tests and details being provided. It’s just an outrageous attempt to try to force this through without proper scrutiny or debate or vote,” the source said.

Responding to the Sunday Telegraph report, a DUP spokesman said: “Unionism rejected the NI Protocol from day one. It took others time to realise and recognise our objections.

"Whilst the Windsor Framework goes some way in addressing our concerns, there is still more work to do. The Windsor Framework does not deal with some of the fundamental problems at the heart of our current difficulties.

“The government has framed this debate on Wednesday as an overall endorsement of the Framework. It is our current assessment that there remain key areas of concern which require further clarification, re-working and change as well as seeing further legal text.

“We will continue our engagement with the government and urge the Prime Minister to take the time to get this right rather than rushing through a deal that doesn’t address all the core issues.”