Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) yesterday said it could not support a Brexit deal being proposed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU.
Johnson said in a tweet that Britain and the EU had agreed a “great” new Brexit.
“Now parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday [tomorrow] so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS [National Health Service], violent crime and our environment,” he wrote.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also took to Twitter to announce the deal.
“Where there is a will, there is a deal — we have one! It’s a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions,” Juncker tweeted. “I recommend that EUCO endorses this deal,” he said, referring to the European Council.
However, the DUP, who have expressed concerns that the Brexit deal could cut Northern Ireland off from Britain in customs and regulatory terms, said there had been no change in their position following the confirmation of the deal.
Earlier the DUP had said it could not support the last-ditch Brexit proposal due to concerns about the issues of customs and consent, adding there was a lack of clarity on VAT (sales tax) arrangements.
“As things stand, we could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues and there is a lack of clarity on VAT,” DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with the [British] government to try and get a sensible deal that works for Northern Ireland and protects the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom,” they said.
A Brexit supporter who was the face of the campaign to leave in the 2016 referendum, Johnson has said he will not ask for a delay, although his government also says that it will obey the law.
Johnson, who has no majority in the 650-seat parliament, needs 320 votes to get a deal ratified. The DUP has 10 votes.
The British parliament is to meet tomorrow in an extraordinary session — the first such meeting since the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Britain’s main opposition party is “unhappy” with the new Brexit deal, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in Brussels.
“We are unhappy with this deal and as it stands will vote against it,” he said.
Asked whether he would put forward a no-confidence motion against Johnson tomorrow, Corbyn said the weekend was a time to discuss the Brexit deal and other issues would be for next week.
Additional reporting by AFP
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of