LAST UPDATE | 25 Feb 2023

UK PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak is under fire after a meeting between King Charles and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen was cancelled

Von der Leyen is no longer expected to travel to the UK to meet Sunak for further in-person talks about the Northern Ireland Protocol, UK Government sources have confirmed.

According to Sky News, the commission leader was also scheduled to meet King Charles at Windsor Castle while in the UK tomorrow.

The Prime Minister’s political judgement has been criticised for involving Britain’s head of state, who traditionally does not get involved in politics in any way.

There were talks about calling a potential protocol pact the “Windsor Agreement” after a meeting with the king, the broadcaster said.

Sunak’s critics said the scheduled meeting brought into question his handling of the protocol negotiations.

Conservative Eurosceptic and former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Times of London the planned meeting with the King was “on the borderline of constitutional propriety”.

Sammy Wilson, a DUP MP, said any Windsor rendezvous with the EU leader would have been “a cynical use” of the King’s position and seen in Unionist circles as the sovereign endorsing the deal.

He branded the Prime Minister “naive” and accused him of “dragging the King into a hugely controversial political issue”.

Kate Hoey, a Northern Irish Brexit supporter and former Labour MP, said any such meeting would have been “outrageous”.

UK Government sources said that, while Von der Leyen’s trip was no longer going ahead, it would not have been improper for the King, as head of state, to meet a visiting European leader.

“It would be wrong to suggest the King would be involved in anything remotely political,” a Government source told the PA news agency.

Buckingham Palace said it would not be commenting.

White smoke

No 10 said talks between Sunak and von der Leyen would occur within the coming days, without being more exact on timings.

White smoke appeared to be on the horizon over a protocol fix after a Downing Street source said a phone call between the Sunak and von der Leyen had been “positive” and there had been “good progress” made.

No 10 sources also confirmed that Sunak had “constructive engagement” this week with supermarket bosses and parcel operators about the protocol and the reforms he is striving to make.

They were developments that were interpreted as another step towards announcing a deal which is designed to reduce the customs headaches being encountered by retailers trading between Northern Ireland and Britain.

Speculation of an imminent deal increased further when it emerged Tory MPs were being ordered into Parliament on a three-line whip on Monday, meaning they must be in the Commons.

Cabinet ministers were also reportedly on alert for a possible conference call over the weekend.

Unusually, Downing Street declined to set out Sunak’s plans for the weekend, only saying that he was working in No 10.

The protocol, signed by former British prime minister Boris Johnson in 2020, was designed to prevent a hard border in Ireland after Brexit by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the European Union’s single market.

But the treaty has incensed unionists due to the trade barriers it has created between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Sunak had reportedly been keen to announce a deal this week but No 10 today said that “intensive negotiations” with Brussels were still under way.

Any announcement of a deal is expected to set up a possible clash with Conservative Brexit hardliners.

Sunak has promised that the House of Commons will be able to “express its view” over any deal, which he hopes will get the DUP to restore powersharing in the North.

But he would come under intense pressure if he does not give MPs an explicit vote, amid fears there could be a rebellion.

Since entering No 10 in October, Sunak has backed away from reforms on contentious issues such as planning rules when confronted with a potential backbench revolt.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly indicated that ministers will not sign off a deal over the protocol until the DUP’s concerns are addressed.