DETAILS of the mechanism within the Windsor Framework to halt the imposition of new EU laws in the north will be released on Monday as the DUP prepares to join MPs this week in voting on the new protocol deal.
Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, confirmed that the full statutory instrument relating to the so-called 'Stormont Brake' will be published on Monday, providing further detail for MPs to consider before MPs vote on it on Wednesday.
Although the Westminster vote is on the statutory instrument and not the Framework as a whole, the vote is being seen as the defining verdict on the deal.
The Stormont Brake was included in the Windsor Framework to ease concerns by some unionists that the NI Protocol leaves the north subject to EU rules without having a say.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has described his government's deal with the EU to address issues created by the Protocol as a "decisive breakthrough" in the row sparked by the NI Protocol agreed by the UK and the EU in the 2019 Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The UK government has said it hopes the Framework will pass at Wednesday's House of Commons vote, with many Tory and Labour MPs backing the deal.
However, it is speculated that the DUP will vote against it, which could see Eurosceptic Conservative MPs also refuse to back the deal.
The European Research Group has yet to formally announce a stance on Rishi Sunak's deal with the EU, but it is thought that the DUP rejecting it will encourage the Tory backbench group to also oppose it or abstain from voting.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that it understands DUP MPs including leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will vote against the Framework on Wednesday.
Sir Jeffrey has previously said the Framework does not address all of his party's concerns that underline its ongoing Stormont boycott.
The speculation comes as Mr Donaldson and the north's other political leaders returned from the annual St Patrick's Day trip to Washington DC, during which US President Joe Biden gave his backing for the Framework.
Mr Donaldson has called for the "reworking" of the deal - a move ruled out by Mr Sunak's government.
UK Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden has said he is "confident the vote will succeed and pass", adding while speaking to reporters at the weekend: "And I hope we will do so with the support of the DUP but ultimately that is for them."
