DUP says Stormont deal has delivered ‘fundamental change’ to UK/EU trading rules

A Government package to restore powersharing at Stormont has delivered “fundamental change” to UK/EU arrangements on post-Brexit trade, the leader of the DUP has insisted.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson claimed his party had negotiated “clear” alterations to the Windsor Framework by ending routine checks on goods moving from Great Britain to final destinations in Northern Ireland.

Major changes to the UK/EU legal framework would require the approval of Brussels.

Downing Street, however, has insisted the measures unveiled on Wednesday do not require specific EU sign-off, characterising them instead as “operational” changes to the framework, without altering the “fundamentals” of the bilateral deal.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I won’t speak for the EU but this is a negotiation between the UK and the DUP. This is not about altering the fundamentals of the Windsor Framework.”

He added: “We do believe that the changes that we are implementing are significant.”