The Northern Ireland Assembly is expected to sit on Saturday, according to Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, following the passage of “very important legislation in the House of Commons” that will mean no routine checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The DUP had boycotted the assembly in protest over trade arrangements after Brexit, and had demanded changes to the way goods are traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in order to end its standoff. On Monday night, the DUP’s executive agreed to endorse the deal. Sir Jeffrey said that there now “exists a basis upon which the Northern Ireland Assembly can meet.”
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the command paper undermined the Good Friday Agreement and questioned whether the government had “moved away from the principle of rigorous impartiality”. However, he praised Sir Jeffrey for being “very brave,” while expressing his party’s opposition to the command paper because it undermined north-south co-operation and placed too much emphasis on east-west. Furthermore, DUP MP Sammy Wilson did not support the deal, describing it as “spineless and weak-kneed,” although the government argues that the proposals represent the “right deal” for Northern
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