Breaking silence, Boris Johnson says he would struggle to back new Brexit deal

Johnson said he could understand that people wanted to move on, but he said Brexit was only worth doing if Britain radically changed its economy, and a compromise deal on trade in Northern Ireland would leave the EU with too much control. "I'm going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself because I believe that we should have done something different," Johnson said.

Boris Johnson said on Thursday he would find it very difficult to vote for a new deal on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, suggesting current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had let the European Union retain too much power.

In a speech to the Global Soft Power Summit 2023, Johnson broke his silence on the new deal which Prime Minister Sunak has described as historic, one that enables Britain to move on from the Brexit rows that have tainted ties. Johnson said he could understand that people wanted to move on, but he said Brexit was only worth doing if Britain radically changed its economy, and a compromise deal on trade in Northern Ireland would leave the EU with too much control.

"I'm going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself because I believe that we should have done something different," Johnson said. "But... we must be clear about what is really going on here. This is not about the UK taking back control ... This is the EU graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want in our own country. Not by our laws, but by theirs."

Sterling fell against the U.S. dollar and euro after Johnson's comments, extending losses from earlier in the day. Johnson, whose allies blame Sunak for helping to oust him as prime minister, said however that he hoped the province's largest unionist party could reconcile itself to the proposal so it can return to the power-sharing assembly in Stormont.

Johnson, who was ousted from power in July last year, reiterated his argument that the British government should stick to a bill he introduced that would all but rip up the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which has now been renegotiated by Sunak to become the Windsor Framework. "Given that we have got rid of the bill I can see why so many people are attracted to accepting a compromise," he said.

"I hope that he (DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson) can find a way of reconciling himself and his party to this outcome, which is the fact that we have, and getting back into Stormont". Sunak struck a

new deal with the European Union on Monday to ease trade restrictions in Northern Ireland, saying he wanted to improve ties with the bloc. Parliament is expected to be given a vote on the deal.