News that king will host EU chief sparks fury
from DUP and Brexiters
Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a
hugely controversial political issue’
Jessica
Elgot Deputy political editor
@jessicaelgot
Mon 27 Feb
2023 13.11 GMT
The king
will host the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after the signing of the final
Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Rishi Sunak, prompting a furious
reaction from the Democratic Unionist party and Tory Brexiters, who accused the
prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics.
The former
DUP first minister Arlene Foster said she “cannot quite believe that No 10
would ask HM the king to become involved in the finalising of a deal as
controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI. We
must remember this is not the king’s decision but the government, who it
appears is tone deaf.”
No 10 and
the European Commission have said the meeting is not linked to the signing of
the deal, an insistence that a number of MPs said stretched credulity.
Several
from across the political divide said it would be a grave mistake to involve
the monarchy. The Labour MP Chris Bryant said it was a “terrible mistake from
the government – we should never bring the monarchy into political disputes”.
Charles
will host tea for the European Commission president after she is expected to
sign off on a Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Sunak. Buckingham Palace
said in a statement – interpreted to place the onus on Sunak – that the king
was acting on “the government’s advice” and that their discussions would
feature a “range of topics”.
Sammy
Wilson, the DUP’s chief whip, was also deeply critical of the timing of the
meeting, saying it risked “dragging the king into a hugely controversial
political issue”.
The former
cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the meeting called into question the
king’s role when he had a duty to approve parliament’s legislation. “I think
the sovereign should only be involved when things have been completed and
accepted,” he told GB News.
“The king
gives assent to acts of parliament when parliament has agreed, he doesn’t
express his view on acts of parliament when they are going through the process.
I think the same applies – that His Majesty should not be involved until there
is full support for this agreement.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The king is
pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the
government’s advice that he should do so.”
Downing Street defended the decision to advise the
king to meet Von Der Leyen, saying it was “not unusual”.
The prime
minister’s official spokesperson added: “He firmly believes it’s for the king
to make those decisions. It’s not uncommon for His Majesty to accept
invitations to meet certain leaders, he has met [the Polish] President [Andrzej]
Duda and [Ukraine’s] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy recently. He is meeting
with the president of the EU today.”
No 10
played down suggestions that the royal audience could be seen as an endorsement
by the palace of the Northern Ireland protocol deal. “We’d never seen to frame
any action as an endorsement,” the spokesperson said.
Asked why
the final protocol talks were taking place in Windsor, he added: “There are a
number of occasions when these sorts of talks have been held in significant
places, this is no different.”
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