Meet Conor Burns – the north Belfast Catholic unionist in the Northern Ireland Office

For Conor Burns his native Belfast to him is still as constitutionally British as his Bournemouth parliamentary constituency.

Catholic, Northern Irish, unionist and gay, the Minister of State for Northern Ireland says he is as opposed to the potential annexation of the Province by the EU as he would be if the English south coast resort unilaterally fell under Brussels’ control.

In an interview with the News Letter, Mr Burns was asked if he understood unionist anger over how the Protocol is exercising increasing influence over Northern Ireland.

“Can I say to you and through you to your readers that absolutely I feel that, the Secretary of State feels that, the Foreign Secretary feels that, the Prime Minister feels that and that is why we why we have set out the ambition of coming to a negotiated change in the Protocol, to make it something that does reflect the unique circumstances of this island – which has two territorial jurisdictions, one in the European Union, one not.

“And while there is the legitimate aspiration of the European Union to protect their Single Market we elevate the core validity of protecting the Single Market of the United Kingdom. So, when you ask me if I get it if I didn’t get it we would not have set the ambition of changing the Protocol,” he said.

Speaking just 24 hours before a loyalist paramilitary bomb scare forced Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney to abandon a speech in north Belfast and be whisked away by police to a secure location, Mr Burns condemned any moves to violently resist the Protocol.

“This society has not thrived when threats of violence are used to achieve a political objective.”

On the continued existence of the Protocol in its present form where more than 30 EU rules now govern Northern Ireland’s economic and commercial life, Mr Burns said: “I have to say that we cannot go on indefinitely and one of the things that everyone who is engaged with the European Commission and the EU member states on this has been clear - the Protocol is not currently commanding cross-community support here in Northern Ireland.

“And when something is not broadly accepted by both traditions here it is rarely a good thing for Northern Ireland. A change there has to be and we have also been incredibly clear, the Secretary of State (Brandon Lewis) has made this clear, the PM has made this clear, Liz Truss has made it clear that we have been very concerned that the application of the Protocol was having a de-stabilising effect on the governance and the stability here in Northern Ireland, and there needs to be change.”

The Minister of State said he knows that the EU’s chief negotiator on the Protocol Maros Sefcovic has been warned about this de-stabilisation during his visits to the Province.

He denied that the Government’s eyes were off the Protocol ball now that it is dealing with the war in Ukraine and its consequences for European and global security. Mr Burns also insisted that the Government was still prepared to trigger Article 16 which could put a temporary stop to the Protocol and its outworkings.

A close ally of Boris Johnson, the Minister said: “The Prime Minister wants the EU to undertand that we did not use Article 16 as an act of good faith to show we want to get a sustainable and lasting solution. I hope the EU are hearing us. The Prime Minister is very clear about this that there is nothing that is off the table.”

Mr Burns defended the Northern Ireland Secretary’s plans for dealing with Legacy issues related to the Troubles including shifting from investigations into the conflict from criminal inquiries into a truth recovery scheme.

“You know the easiest thing to do on Legacy would be to do nothing and I actually think the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister deserve credit for seeking to enter this space and find a way to help this society especially for some of those most affected by the Troubles.”

Reflecting on Legacy Mr Burns casts his mind back to August 1998 and the Real IRA Omagh bomb massacre which occured during one of his visits to his relations.

“I remember being in my grandma’s living room on the day of the Omagh bombing and finding out that one of my cousin’s children was in Omagh that day. There was this absolutely overwhelming sense of fear especially when all the lines to Omagh went down as we tried to get through.”

He still sees most of his family the majority of whom are very comfortable with their Catholic cousin being a British minister arguing for the merits of the Union. Only two relations who are republicans have made it clear they do not wish to see him, Mr Burns said.

“Let’s just say they are not paid up members of the Tory No Turning Back group,” he added.

A past pupil of the Christian Brothers run Park Lodge Primary School on Belfast’s Antrim Road, he revealed that he once considered entering the priesthood.

He cited the late Pope John Paul II alongside Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as both his heroes and his reason to join the Tory Party even before he turned 16 because of their “defence of the values of individual freedom” against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Mr Burns came out as gay in his mid 20s and acknowledges that it was Tony Blair and New Labour who “turbo charged social change” to in turn liberalise attitudes towards gay people in the Conservative Party.

He describes himself as having a “multi-facted identity. I am a Catholic, I am gay, I support the Union, I am a Conservative, I would still call myself a Thatcherite, I am Northern Irish, I am Irish, I am British.”

More from the News Letter:

Click here:

Detectives call for information to help crack notorious murder case which saw Protestant minister beaten with nail-studded bats 25 years ago

Click here:

Protest at Belfast factory over ‘ludicrous nature of arms trade’ with equipment built by Thales being used by both Ukraine AND Russia

Click here:

Plan unveiled for huge expansion of Co Antrim village bringing hundreds of new residents

Click here:

Joe Biden tells St Patrick’s Day gathering: I may be Irish but I’m not stupid

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptionsnow to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor