but the prime minister now has to sell his deal and persuade the sceptics. will the so called windsor framework get the approval of unionists in northern ireland and what will it mean for future relations with the eu? also on the programme. why your energy bills are likely to go up from april despite the amount companies can charge households going down. i think it is time that members of this house grew up. tributes are paid to betty boothroyd who s died she broke 700 years of tradition to become the first female speaker of the house of commons. and what does this bout between two more famous on social media than in the ring mean for the future of boxing? and coming up on sport on the bbc news channel, all set for a grandstand finish in new zealand as jack leach gives england the chance of a historic win in wellington. but will it be the last cheap upgrade for some time? good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. historic, a breakthrough, a landmark the words of the pr
i m ben brown in the studio our other top stories this hour... as the regulator ofgem lowers the price cap for gas and electricity, there are fresh calls for the government to stop a rise in energy bills in april. a new panorama investigation uncovers evidence that women are being misled and manipulated about abortion by some crisis pregnancy advice centres,in the uk. the first female speaker of the house of commons, betty boothroyd, dies at the age of 93. good afternoon from windsor, where rishi sunak and the eu have struck a new agreement to amend post brexit trading rules with the eu. the prime minister said the deal marked a decisive breakthrough after years of wrangling, allowing smooth, free flowing trade while preserving the belfast agreement, the setttlement which underpins devolved government in northern ireland. mr sunak said the agreement would remove any sense of a border in the irish sea, the chief complaint of unionists who have boycotted stormont in prote
that has been helpful. i think the political instability, the lack of understanding about where is all this taking us is not good for business. for some businesses in northern ireland the protocol has meant mountains of new red tape, but others have benefited from a dual market advantage. the northern ireland protocol has really allowed us to continue to operate as we were pre brexit. when the rest of the uk exited and indeed northern ireland did, the protocol provided a mechanism that allowed us to continue to trade freely with the rest of the european union and also with the uk, where many of our competitors who are based on the uk mainland don t have. but one of the big problems negotiators have tried to solve were would suppliers in britain be put off from sending goods over the irish sea as companies are hit by the extra time and costs involved to comply with the paperwork and checks?
some through the detail, scrutinising for some time, and reach a verdict. yes, there some time, and reach a verdict. yes, there are some time, and reach a verdict. yes, there are political prizes for the prime there are political prizes for the prime minister in getting this far. the warm prime minister in getting this far. the warm relationship that katir was talking the warm relationship that katir was talking about with the eu, and improvements as he sees it in the relationship northern ireland improvement can have with the rest of the improvement can have with the rest of the uk improvement can have with the rest of the uk but the key is securing devolved of the uk but the key is securing devolved government again, meaning persuading the dup. their leader tonight persuading the dup. their leader tonight says they will go away and look at tonight says they will go away and look at it tonight says they will go away and look at it. one of their mps, ian paisley
so what would the new windsor framework mean? goods from great britain that stay in northern ireland would pass through a green express lane with little or no additional checks. and goods from great britain going to the republic of ireland ie into the eu, will have to be checked northern irish businesses would no longer be subject to eu rules on vat but would fall into line with the rest of the uk. the northern ireland assembly would be able to block new eu rules from applying to their businesses under certain conditions a so called stormont brake. crucial to the success of this deal will be the backing of conservative mps and the democratic unionist party who ve yet to decide. our political editor chris mason reports. four months negotiations have rumbled on in the undergrowth. finally, ten, at a posh hotel near windsorjust finally, ten, at a posh hotel near windsor just outside finally, ten, at a posh hotel near windsorjust outside london, and with the support of british history, the