Arlene Foster backs down over demand Michelle O’Neill apologise for covid rule breaches at Storey funeral

Speaking the day after the former IRA director of intelligence’s funeral, Mrs Foster said that “there has to be a recognition that there was wrongdoing yesterday and when that recognition comes forward then there needs to be an apology. And then of course she needs to reflect on what else she can do to make amends for all of that”.

However, amid dismay among some senior DUP colleagues that Mrs Foster was not calling for the deputy First Minister to resign, the First Minister then came under internal pressure to write to Ms O’Neill to ask her to stand aside.

Two days after that Mrs Foster said “there has been no recognition that regulations and guidelines were broken and the Deputy First Minister cannot escape that reality”.

But today, having achieved none of those objectives, the First Minister has agreed to end her refusal to appear with Ms O’Neill at joint press conferences and will do so this afternoon.

In what appeared to be a choreographed move between the DUP and Sinn Féin, Ms O’Neill gave a written statement to RTÉ on Wednesday night.

It contained neither an apology nor an acceptance that she had broken her own rules, but belatedly admitted that the wider row had undermined Stormont’s public health message.

However, despite Sinn Féin’s leading role in organising many aspects of the funeral, Ms O’Neill insisted that “it wasn’t my intention this would happen, but it did, I accept this and I regret this is the case.”

Yesterday morning Mrs Foster released a statement which said: “It is right that the Deputy First Minister has acknowledged the undermining of the public messaging as a result of what happened, and the deep hurt and anger that was caused as a result of Michelle O’Neill’s action.”

When Good Morning Ulster asked Sinn Fein’s Assembly chief whip John O’Dowd about Ms O’Neill giving something “close to an apology”, he said: ”At times it’s difficult for political leaders to be able to come out and...express regret around something because then they are interrogated and it’s nit picked at, it’s pulled apart”.

When asked at lunch time if the DUP needed to hear Ms O’Neill say sorry, DUP MP Gregory Campbell – who despite his reputation as a DUP hardliner had not initially called on Ms O’Neill to resign – declined to answer clearly but told Talkback: “I don’t think there should be a problem with a joint press conference.

“But remember that there are ongoing issues – we’ve got an ongoing police investigation about the matter...and we should have, because some of our members lodged complaints at the Assembly in terms of the ministerial code.”So there are issues that need to be resolved.”

When pressed if those issues had to be resolved before Mrs Foster returns to joint press conferences with Ms O’Neill, he said: “Well not necessarily...”

Sam McBride: Despite Sinn Féin’s Trumpian claims, Storey funeral involved at least 10 breaches of public health advice

Sam McBride: Sinn Féin is now sacrificing public health advice on the altar of self-protection

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