The leader of the DUP has denied being pressured by US politicians to sign up to the new Brexit deal on trade for Northern Ireland. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the PA news agency that the US administration and other political figures in Congress had been “very understanding” of his party’s desire to seek further assurances from the UK Government following the signing of the Windsor Framework. Sir Jeffrey held talks with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in the White House on Thursday to discuss the framework, which is aimed at removing some of the economic barriers on Irish Sea trade created by Brexit’s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.