No 10 signals Northern Ireland deal to go ahead – with or without DUP backing

Full ratification of Windsor framework agreed with EU likely to take months as PM continues sales pitch

Downing Street has set out its apparent intent to push ahead with a new trading regime for Northern Ireland whether or not the Democratic Unionist party backs the plan - although a leading Conservative Brexiter predicted they ultimately would.

A day after Rishi Sunak unveiled his self-styled Windsor framework", an attempt to patch the holes in Boris Johnson's original post-Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland, a sense of elation among Conservatives was giving way to recognition that there was a long road ahead.