Boris Johnson says he will find it ‘very difficult’ to vote for Northern Ireland deal

Ex-PM argues Rishi Sunak’s plan for post-Brexit trade arrangements will crush efforts to diverge from EU

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Boris Johnson has said he will find it “very difficult” to vote for Rishi Sunak’s revised deal for post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, arguing that the plan ties the UK to EU regulations that will crush efforts to innovate and diverge.

In his first public comments since the Windsor framework was unveiled on Monday, the former prime minister did not explicitly say he would oppose it, and said he hoped the changes would work but that he had serious reservations about the impact.