his morning, Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker agreed a new Brexit deal, after last-ditch talks ahead of a leaders’ summit in Brussels. Negotiators worked until 2am on Thursday to reach the agreement – but Mr Johnson’s battle is far from over. Just like his predecessor, the Prime Minister faces an uphill fight to pass the agreement in the House of Commons without the support of the DUP.

Arlene Foster’s Party said they fear the deal would not be in “in Northern Ireland’s long-term economic and constitutional interests”.

In agreeing a deal to guarantee the Irish border remains invisible, with no checks fuelling inter-community tensions, the UK is moving the border to the Irish Sea.

The DUP fear it will create an unwelcome new Brexit burden, forcing manufacturers to take on a mountain of paperwork and breaching Theresa May’s promise that east-west trade would remain unfettered.

Until not long ago, even Mr Johnson believed that regulatory checks in the Irish Sea would have been extremely damaging.

Speaking about Mrs May’s Brexit deal at the DUP conference last year, Mr Johnson said: “If we genuinely wanted to do free trade deals, if we wanted to cut tariffs, if we wanted to vary our regulation, then we would have to leave Northern Ireland behind as an economic semi-colony of the EU.

“And we would be damaging the fabric of the Union with regulatory checks and even customs controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“On top of those extra regulatory checks down the Irish Sea that are already envisaged in the withdrawal agreement.”

The former London Mayor added: “Now, I have to tell you.

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“No British Conservative Government could or should sign up to any such arrangement.”

A video of the speech was projected onto the House of Commons last night, by an anti-Brexit campaign group called Led By Donkeys.

Under the proposals, Northern Ireland will leave the EU’s customs union at the same time as the rest of the UK.

Crucially, that means that the province can benefit from any future trade deals struck by the Government after Brexit.

However, Northern Ireland will remain an entry point into the EU’s customs zone, meaning that UK authorities will apply UK tariffs to products entering Northern Ireland.

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However, only if they are not earmarked for onward transportation across the border.

For goods at risk of entering the single market, the UK will collect EU tariffs on behalf of the bloc.

Effectively, this means creating a customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The central point of the deal states the two sides are “underlining their firm commitment to no customs and regulatory checks or controls and related physical infrastructure at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland”.

It also states unequivocally that “Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom”.

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