Karen Bradley tells Irish-speaking MP to respect devolved government

As parliament debated legislation regarding decision-making powers of civil servants at Stormont, Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville-Roberts asked Karen Bradley: “Will the minister uphold its commitment by introducing an Irish language act if power-sharing institutions are not restored within six months?”

From her bench directly in front of DUP MPs, she began her address with a statement in Irish, which Speaker John Bercow asked her to translate.

Offering a translation, Ms Saville-Roberts said: “Language rights are human rights and the Irish speaking community are entitled to equality.”

In response, the secretary of state said that while she supported “statutory underpinning” for other indigenous languages, she stressed that any move to introduce such legislation in NI was a matter for the Stormont Assembly.

Mrs Bradley added: “I am sure that she would not want to see this House undermining the constitutional devolution arrangements that exist across the UK and cherry picking those points that members may feel very strongly about.”

Irish language group Conradh na Gaeilge welcomed Ms Saville-Roberts’ contribution and said it was the first time an MP had addressed the Commons in Irish.

Advocacy manager Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin said: “As the Irish language historically echoed around the House of Commons we hope the message ‘language rights are human rights’ will be to the forefront in the mind of the British government and MPs present.”