Rishi Sunak battling growing Tory rebellion over Brexit fix as hopes of breakthrough fade

RISHI Sunak was battling a growing Tory rebellion earlier tonight over his Brexit fix — as hopes of a breakthrough today faded.

The PM was warned against ramming a Northern Ireland deal through the Commons without Unionist backing.

Ex-Cabinet Minister Simon Clarke said: “It would be a very real problem for the Government were it to be a deal which didn’t carry the support of the DUP.”

In a gift to Brussels, Labour boss Sir Keir Starmer said he would vote for whatever the Government negotiated — despite the scepticism of dozens of Tory backbenchers.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman backed Boris Johnson’s warnings not to take the threat of unilaterally tearing up Northern Irish trade terms off of the table.

Mr Johnson said it would be a “great mistake” to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.

And Ms Braverman echoed her fellow Brexiteer’s warning, saying it was “one of the biggest tools we have in solving the problem on the Irish Sea”.

The Bill to allow Britain unilaterally to change rules governing goods to the province is on ice in the House of Lords.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was expected to fly to Brussels for with the EU this morning.

But Brussels said they would now happen later this week.

Today, Mr Cleverly tweeted: “Intensive work continues and we agreed to talk again in the coming days.”

No10 insisted a final deal had not been struck as it seeks an agreement that will satisfy the DUP’s demands.

On Tuesday morning Health Minister Maria Caulfield urged Tory rebels to give the PM a chance.

She told Times Radio: "There isn't a deal done yet so all these rumours about ministers or MPs not being happy, I haven't seen the details, we have to give the Prime Minister that time and space to get these negotiations done.

"We need to give him the time and space to thrash out the final elements of any final deal."

Sammy Wilson, the DUP chief whip at Westminster, accused ministers of going into the negotiations with the EU with “an attitude of defeat”.