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 there should be some test of materiality. steve baker there. let s get the view of labour now. he s in westminster. jonathan reynolds is the shadow secretary of state for business and industrial strategy. what do you make what is labour s reaction? taste what do you make what is labour s reaction? ~ . ., reaction? we are all here in westminster reaction? we are all here in westminster awaiting - reaction? we are all here in westminster awaiting a - reaction? we are all here in - westminster awaiting a statement from the prime minister and around an hour s time but it does appear to be the case that what this deal is bent around on the kind of things that we have been calling for in the labour party for some time. specifically an agreement on food and animal loss between the uk and the eu along side than a differential for goods just between northern ireland and uk and some form of consent mechanism for communities within northern ireland to approve of these arrangements. the ody
government on doing that. so that s why we have very clear criteria from the labour party as to what we believed solutions were. we ll find out from the prime minister exactly what has been going on in terms of internal negotiations are around this. i think fundamentally, this is about politicians in northern ireland and across the united kingdom coming to an agreement and national interests. national interests. thank you very much, jonathan national interests. thank you very much, jonathan come national interests. thank you very much, jonathan come in - national interests. thank you very - much, jonathan come in westminster. that is it for me and the team here in windsor. the windsor framework of course has been agreed here over our shoulders on the grounds of this rather lovely hotel in berkshire. of course, that press conference just a few minutes from here. and now the action moves to westminster where the prime minister is going to make a statement and we will see how much de
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 protest at the northern ireland protocol struck by borisjohnson. so what has been announced? rishi sunak says there will be a smooth flow of trade within the uk , with goods separated into a green lane for goods travelling to northern ireland and a red lane for goods at risk of moving into the eu. the prime minister says the new deal ensures that the same quintessentially british products will once again be available in northern ireland.
change. the ultimate litmus test for the dup, they have gone back to again, making the point numerous times over the last few months, they say that the key issue for them is whether the deal respects and restores northern ireland s place within the united kingdom. so sir geoffrey donaldson saying they re in broad terms, significant progress has been secured, but also he recognises they remain key issues of concern, and his words, and on but not he points to what he seems to think that main issue of concern, he says that there can be no disguising the fact that in some sectors of our economy, eu law remains applicable in northern ireland. so the key question is for the dup when they examined this agreement, one, will the amount of eu law that applies in northern ireland be minimal enough,