Daily Mail

He wore a tight little smile that said ‘I’ve been a very clever boy’

- HENRY DEEDES

RISHI Sunak arrived wearing a tight little smile. Not one of his Persil-white dazzlers, no. This was something more serene, more subtle – more a look that quietly squeaked, ‘I’ve been a very clever boy’. The class swot who’s just been crowned school chess champion.

He stared hard into the camera and announced solemnly that he was ‘pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrou­gh’.

How very satisfying those words must have been to utter. After months of endless to-ing and froing, of furious rows and backroom bickering, of threats and counterthr­eats, a deal on the mind-boggling Northern Ireland protocol was finally in the bag.

On the outside he was coolness personifie­d. Inside, though, he must have felt not so much like the cat who’d got the cream but also a portion of the richest sherry trifle to go with it.

The puff of white smoke had appeared over Windsor an hour before at around 2.30pm when news leaked that a deal had been done. More likely it had been struck days ago, in some drab negotiatin­g room in Brussels over slightly stale digestives and tepid mineral water.

THEarrival of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London yesterday morning was nothing more than a formality – a straightfo­rward case of crossing the I’s and dotting the t’s.

Yet for all the theatrics there was no denying that this was a defining moment in Mr Sunak’s premiershi­p. The setting for their joint announceme­nt was a stately room inside Windsor Guildhall, all grand portraits and crystal chandelier­s. The PM had on one of his figurehugg­ing suits and a skinny-blue tie, not a hair on his immaculate­ly-oiled barnet out of place.

Frau Von der Leyen, sporting her own perfect blonde coiffure, wore olive green and radiated that smiling, lavender-scented grandeur unique to Brussels’ big fromages.

As the two protagonis­ts swept into the room and positioned themselves behind their lecterns, you could sense the air of triumphant self- satisfacti­on blowing in behind them. What followed was the slightly unctuous language of internatio­nal diplomacy – treacle-laden platitudes which can feel about as genuine as a car salesman’s compliment.

But there was real warmth on show, easy smiles and understand­ing glances, mutual respect between technocrat­s.

The PM admitted that negotiatio­ns with the EU had ‘not always been easy’. Britain and Brussels had had their difference­s in the past, but he now looked forward to starting a ‘new chapter in our friendship’. He singled out von der Leyen for her ‘vision’.

On the face it, the deal sounded a good ‘un: A promise of a ‘smooth flow of trade’ between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. Only UK VAT, customs and medicines rules would now apply in the province.

Yes, the dreaded European Court of Justice would be the final arbiter on trade disputes but a ‘Stormont Brake’ would mean laws could not be forced on Northern Ireland. Plenty of red meat there for die-hard Brexiteers to chew on.

Ursula von der Leyen was effusive in her praise of Sunak. Her manner was decidedly more winning than that of her thirsty predecesso­r, JeanClaude Juncker, always so determined to make Britain pay for daring to turn its back on him and the rest of his smug, non-elected chums. Indeed, it sounded as though Ursula and Rishi had hit it off from the moment they met.

They’d seen ‘eye-to- eye’ on Ukraine and had made a

pledge to remain honest with each other throughout their talks. On more than one occasion she referred to the PM as ‘ Dear Rishi’. Patronisin­g? I think not. I found it endearing. A beaming headmistre­ss boasting about her star pupil. I can assure readers that she certainly never referred to ‘Dear Boris’ when BoJo was in office.

Then, with a neatly- choreograp­hed shake of hands, that was

it. Job done. Well, not quite. All that fluff and flummery was the easy bit. Next up came the tricky task of selling this deal to the Commons.

Bythe time the PM arrived at the dispatch box to a mighty roar at around 6.30pm the omens were good. Even the usual Brexit trouble causers looked reasonably happy. A certain A.B.de P Johnson? Notably absent.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the chamber came an uncommon outbreak of unity. Sir Keir Starmer announced he was on board. So too was the SNP leader Stephen Flynn. Not words you read very often.

It was starting to feel like a day of triumph of Mr Sunak. The acid test, though, was the DUP. When leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson rose there was a collective clenching of buttocks along the government front bench. Foreign Secretary James Cleverley leant forward and interlocke­d his hands as though offering up a little prayer.

Mr Donaldson conceded that the deal had secured ‘ significan­t progress’. But still concerns remained. He and his party would have to go away and ‘ study the detail’. Not a ringing endorsemen­t. But certainly not the torpedo job many were predicting.

Whisper it ever so gently, but it’s not impossible the Prime Minister has pulled off an absolute blinder.

... on the day Sunak finally got an Ulster agreement in his grasp

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 ?? ?? Selling the deal: Rishi Sunak in the Commons last night and with Ursula von der Leyen
Selling the deal: Rishi Sunak in the Commons last night and with Ursula von der Leyen

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