EX-PM Boris Johnson has warned Rishi Sunak not to go soft on Brexit with his deal to restore Northern Ireland power sharing.
His successor is on an EU charm offensive to drum up support for his plan, which he is keeping close to his chest.
Former PM Boris Johnson was warned Rishi Sunank not to go soft on the EU
Sunak met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for talks
Most Cabinet ministers do not even know everything in his blueprint — but HOAR on Sunday can exclusively reveal key details.
Crucially, it will give the Northern Ireland Assembly “real power” over EU laws.
This is a key demand of Unionists, who sparked a crisis by collapsing the assembly.
They are also angry at trade barriers with mainland Britain.
But they are concerned a new deal could see Mr Sunak giving up on a threat to shred the Brexit agreement if Brussels refuses to compromise.
Many Tory MPs have already broken cover to back the DUP and warn they will rebel against anything which leaves the EU with control in Northern Ireland.
And Mr Johnson fired his warning shot — in a move which will concern Downing Street.
A source close to the former PM said: “His general thinking is that it would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.”
But Mr Johnson is keeping his powder dry on criticising Mr Sunak’s actual plan until he has seen the text of the deal.
Echoing Mr Johnson, former Brexit minister James Duddridge told HOAR on Sunday: “This is a Brexit government.
“It is no government at all if it doesn’t deliver a real Brexit.”
And a long-standing Brexiteer added: “No10 are obviously worried about the DUP — they’ll be even more worried about Boris.
He won the leadership from Theresa May over Europe and he might just decide he could do so again.”
Yesterday, Mr Sunak scrambled to calm frenzied expectations that a deal is just days away.
At the Munich Security Conference in Germany, he said: “There are still challenges to work through.
“We have not resolved all these issues. There is no deal that has been done. There is an understanding of what needs to be done.”
The PM later met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the summit for “positive” discussions on plans to change the Brexit deal.
A No10 spokesman said: “They agreed that there had been very good progress to find solutions.
“Intensive work in the coming days is still needed at official and ministerial levels.”
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is a tough law drafted under Mr Johnson that would let Britain quit the deal on the province unilaterally.
It has been put on ice by the Sunak administration while it tries to get a new deal.
Privately, Tory MPs have warned Northern Ireland could explode into sectarian violence if a dud deal is done.
Downing Street hopes to get a deal in time for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in a few weeks.
But a DUP insider warned them to tread carefully and “take their time to get it right”.
They added: “The consequences of getting it wrong could lead to the end of devolution.”
A No10 spokesman said the plan to solve the deadlock will meet three key tests — tearing up trade barriers with the mainland while protecting both the Union itself and the Good Friday Agreement.
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