The Minister for Health has warned that there is no room for renegotiation of the draft Withdrawal Agreement approved by the UK Cabinet this week.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May is standing firm in the face of a string of resignations and the threat of a no confidence motion as the plan divides the Conservative party.
Yesterday two of her Cabinet ministers resigned in protest at the plan.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove was reportedly considering his position this morning - however sources close to him have announced that he has decided against the move.
Deal or no deal
Mr Gove is one of a number of UK politicians who has called for Mrs May to return to Brussels and attempt to renegotiate the deal.
EU leaders have already warned that the time for renegotiation has passed – and on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Health Minister Simon Harris said there is no wriggle room for changing the deal.
“If there was I am sure that would have been arrived at already,” he said.
He said negotiating teams had “arrived at what they believe to be the best possible deal.
“The British Cabinet has approved; the Irish Cabinet has considered it; I expect now that the European Council will also approve the deal on November 25th.
“This is a deal that has been hard-won by all sides; it is not something that somebody just chucked down on a piece of paper over a couple of minutes.
“This is 1,000 days of negotiation, 584 pages of text – it is extremely detailed.”
Irish commitments
He praised Mrs May for staying true to her commitments on the Irish border.
“A lot of people have written this woman off before,” he said. “A lot of people have misunderstood her in the past; have perhaps not realised the great tenacity that this British Prime Minister has.
“She has delivered on her word to Ireland.
“She has honoured the commitments that she gave the Irish Government and the Irish people when we started all these discussions over 1,000 days ago.”
He noted that business and community Northern Ireland groups have been speaking out in support of the deal.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street, London, 15-11-2018. Image: Matt Dunham/PA Wire/PA Images
In the UK meanwhile, all government whips have been called back to London today as sources close to the whips office say a no confidence vote in Mrs May is now "likely."
Conservative MPs will be asked to vote on her future is as many as 48 Tory MPs send letters calling for a change in leadership.
18 Conservative MPs have publicly said they want to get rid of her, however it remains unclear how many more have sent letters.
Yesterday, she vowed to see her plan through Parliament, telling reporters she is not going anywhere.
“Serving in high office is an honour and privilege,” she said. “It is also a heavy responsibility.”
“That is true at any time – but especially when the stakes are so high.
“Leadership is about taking the right decisions not the easy ones. Am I going to see this through? Yes.”
Resignations
Two Cabinet Ministers aides resigned in protest at the plans yesterday alongside a number of junior ministers and Government aides.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was first of the big names to go – claiming the plan represented a "very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom" as it offers special status for Northern Ireland.
He was followed out the exit door by Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey.
Five other Conservative MPs then quit their government or party roles.
Sources in the UK suggest Environment Secretary Michael Gove was offered the role of Brexit secretary – but he reportedly rejected it because he would have been unable to go back to Brussels and renegotiate the deal.
No confidence motion
Arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday revealed that he had submitted a letter of no-confidence in the PM and it remains to be seen how many others have followed suit.
He said he was not interested in filling the role himself – and put forward Mr Raab, Ms McVey, foreign secretary Boris Johnson, former Brexit secretary David Davis and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt as potential candidates.
Westminster rules mean there will be no indication of how many letters have been sent unless the threshold of 48 is met.
This morning, Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston says they don't have the numbers to force her out:
“Certainly some colleagues are that determined,” he said. “They do want to remove her.”
“But the vast majority of the party respectfully disagrees with that position and she has got a lot of loyalists not only in the party but also the country.”
Good Friday Agreement
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and EU leaders have welcomed the 585 page draft withdrawal agreement.
Mr Varadkar said the deal offers a “satisfactory outcome” on Irish priorities – including protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area.
He observed: “It envisages that the UK and the EU would establish a shared customs territory with Northern Ireland applying some additional rules for goods to ensure that no need for border between north and south arises."
“The text makes clear that this backstop would apply unless and until a better solution is agreed.”
Speaking on Thursday morning, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier warned that "our work is not finished" and there is still a "long road ahead" for all sides.
