Michelle O’Neill: DUP do not speak for the north of Ireland and they do its people a disservice
The British prime minister Theresa May has done a dangerous political U-turn on the agreed ‘backstop’ and this is a huge act of bad faith.
Theresa May and the British government have a serious credibility issue.
She negotiated a legally binding solution in the backstop to prevent a hard border on this island with the European Union, and is now attempting to abandon that agreement.
There is uniformity from the four pro-Remain parties in the North, the Irish government and the EU member states that there can be no renegotiation of the backstop — it is fundamental to the Withdrawal Agreement.
Theresa May must understand that no amount of warm words and platitudes will be acceptable to Sinn Féin, citizens or businesses here.
Only the legally binding backstop can guarantee certainty, prevent a hard border and protect the Good Friday Agreement framework.
We told Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer this on Monday and we will tell Theresa May that on Wednesday.
The DUP do not speak for the people of the north of Ireland — and are doing a huge disservice to our people, businesses, farming industry and key sectors of the economy by misrepresenting our interests.
This will continue to be opposed and resisted at every turn.
Michelle O’Neill MLA, Sinn Féin Deputy Leader