Johnson NI intervention not entirely unhelpful - Mordaunt - BBC News
The NI Protocol bill reminds the EU of the "bar" it must meet in Brexit talks with the UK, the Commons leader says.
Not unhelpful for Boris Johnson - or at least sources close to him - to stick his oar in the Brexit debate.

That was the verdict of Penny Mordaunt - leader of the House of Commons, and Johnson's companion on the Vote Leave red bus.

I’m not entirely sure that Rishi Sunak’s team will see it exactly the same way. There’s been trepidation, and an inevitability about the former PM and Brexit cheerleader getting involved in the arguments around new arrangements for Northern Ireland, after the protocol deal provoked such problems.

As the former chief whip Wendy Morton also on the show made clear this morning, Rishi Sunak faces a very tricky time indeed to get a new deal for Northern Ireland through the parliamentary party, even if he can agree something that has the backing of all parties in Belfast.

Mordaunt was careful to emphasise how an agreement simply couldn’t be done without the support and backing of the DUP in particular - the unionist party who are furious at how the existing protocol has created different rules for Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.

There have been some whispers that there was a possibility of doing a deal, even without DUP support, but Mordaunt closed that idea down this morning.

There is a chance for Rishi Sunak to soothe the painful hangover from the Brexit talks in the next few days. But there’s no doubting there's a political headache in wait, even if the EU signs on the dotted line.