Prime Minister says 'we have not got a deal yet' on the Northern Ireland Protocol

Prime Minister has said "we have not got a deal yet" on the Northern Ireland Protocol, adding that "there's work to do" to reach an agreement with the EU.

It comes after Rishi Sunak met with Stormont parties in Belfast on Friday to update them on current negotiations.

Upon his return to London, Mr Sunak told reporters that the conversations he had were "positive".

Speaking in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: "Today I had positive conversations with political parties in Northern Ireland about our ongoing discussions to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"Now it is clear that we need to find solutions to the practical problems that the protocol is causing families and business in Northern Ireland, as well as address the democratic deficit.

"There is more work to do, and that's why my ministerial colleagues and I will continue talking to the European Union intensely to find solutions that protect the Belfast Good Friday agreement and Northern Ireland's place in our single market."

Rishi Sunak explained that he had set himself tests on any potential agreement with Brussels on the Northern Ireland Protocol, including "crucially" addressing the "democratic deficit" in the Brexit deal.

He made the comments when broadcasters put to him that DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had said the European Union needed to "stretch itself to achieve a deal".

Asked whether he agreed, the Prime Minister, said: "The tests I've set myself is that we protect Northern Ireland's place in our internal market, that we protect the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, that we resolve the practical issues that the protocol is causing families and businesses in the Northern Ireland.

"And crucially that we address the democratic deficit.

"Those are the issues that we need to work through and that's what my ministerial colleagues and I will be talking to the EU about."

Earlier on Friday, after a lengthy meeting with the Prime Minister in Belfast, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he was "hopeful" agreement can be reached between the UK government and EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol which meets his party's demands.Meanwhile Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald welcomed "significant progress" in relation to the negotiations, adding that her party wants a "speedy conclusion of matters".

The Alliance Party's Leader Naomi Long said that she explained to the Prime Minister the importance of dual-market access for Northern Ireland.

Doug Beattie of the Ulster Unionist Party said more clarity was needed.

"We don't know and I don't leave here knowing much more than I knew when we first went in. But certainly the Prime Minister was enthusiastic, engaged and positive, and that has has given me something to take away from this," he explained.

SDLP MP Colum Eastwood said he felt the Prime Minister had been "very careful not to get into too much detail until the deal is done and I suppose that's fair enough".

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