Arlene Foster denies her position as leader of the DUP is under threat

Stormont’s First Minister was responding to reports of internal unrest within the party.

“Stories on leadership come up from time to time, and it’s one of those times,” she said on visit to a youth centre in Belfast.

“So we’ll just deal with it and move on because I’ve bigger things to do, including getting us through this Covid pandemic, including listening to the concerns of working-class communities.

“These stories come up from time to time. This is no different.”

She added: “I haven’t received any letters from constituency associations so I’m not going to get into a running commentary on these issues, they come up from time to time. I think it’s important to note that there is the big job of work to do. We have a year left of this mandate.

“It’s important that we lift our eyes and continue the work of rolling out of the restrictions, deal with the Northern Ireland Protocol.”

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