Bill Clinton: 'Fairly easy' to restore Stormont 'if we want to'

Addressing an audience in Londonderry marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, Mr Clinton said an excuse can always be found to say no.

It comes as the Stormont institutions remain effectively collapsed due to a DUP boycott.

Crowds gathered outside the Guildhall and an invited audience inside the building rose in a standing ovation as Mr Clinton arrived.

The Making Hope And History Rhyme event, organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation, also heard musical performances and addresses by young people.

Ash lead singer Tim Wheeler dedicated a performance of his hit ‘Shining Light’ to journalist Lyra McKee on the fourth anniversary of her murder.

Earlier Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to Ms McKee, saying: “Today, we remember Lyra McKee, a journalist who caught the imagination of young people in Northern Ireland.

“In strongly rejecting sectarianism, she embodied the Northern Ireland that I see today – one of realising a better Northern Ireland than what had come before her.”

U2 frontman Bono appeared in a video at the Guildhall paying tribute to agreement architects John Hume and David Trimble, describing the former as a “man who made all our lives bigger”, and Lord Trimble as the “politician who was seen as a hardliner” but “when the moment came, made the hard choice for peace”.

Mr Clinton paid tribute to those who came together for the historic 1998 accord, particularly Mr Hume, who led the SDLP and Lord Trimble, who led the UUP.

He said they “who put their lives and careers on the line” for peace.

“I loved and admired them both, but what they stood for is alive in your lives,” he said.

Mr Clinton described the “gift of the agreement” as “lifting our lives, our children’s lives and our grandchildren’s lives”.

He said it is important to get Stormont back up and running.

“Based on what I’ve heard it can fairly easily be done if we want to, but we can always find an excuse to say no,” he added.

“If you’re having a fight in your home, you can always find an excuse to say no, if you’re struggling with any kind of relationship or struggle, you can always find an excuse to say no, getting to yes is humanity’s great trial and great goal.

“The people we honour today got to yes.”

Mr Clinton said he can remember virtually every encounter with Mr Hume and Lord Trimble, adding that the latter was “so modest” and never got “the credit he deserved”.

Earlier in the event two school pupils, James Tourish, who attends St Columb’s College, and Ellianna McBride, who attends Foyle College, urged progress.

Mr Tourish said: “We must stand together united and determined to seek and deliver a better future for all on this island … there is more that unites the people of this province than what divides us.”

Ms McBride said while peace has created the context for politics and for political institutions to work, “those institutions need to function now”.

Following the event in the Guildhall, Mr Clinton visited a local bar where he met Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.

He spoke to a number of people in the Guildhall Taphouse and posed for selfies on request.