Lord Kilclooney: I hope the Stormont parties challenge Micheal Martin on the breach of Strand One

At the negotiations for the Belfast Agreement it was agreed by all parties involved that the Republic of Ireland should be excluded from Strand One discussions, ie devolution within the United Kingdom and the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont.

Mr Micheal Martin, Prime Minister of the Republic, has announced that he intends to visit Northern Ireland to discuss the NI Assembly with all NI political leaders.

That would be a breach of the agreement and would undermine it in the future.

I hope that all Northern Ireland party leaders will uphold the agreement and not contribute to its collapse, as Mr Martin’s statement would cause!

Lord (John) Kilclooney, Ex Ulster Unionist MP, MEP & deputy leader, Co Armagh

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