Chris Heaton-Harris takes swipe at the DUP saying 'real leaders know when to say yes' in Good Friday anniversary speech

He made the remarks in a speech he was giving today at Queen’s University Belfast, as part of a three-day programme of events marking 25 years since the Belfast Agreement of 1998 was signed.

Tory MP Mr Heaton-Harris began by saying that the anniversary should be “deservedly marked, recognised, and indeed celebrated,” and that the deal was “justly... one of the proudest moments” of Tony Blair’s career.

Looking back to the 1998 deal, which had been opposed by the DUP, Mr Heaton-Harris said: “Real leaders know when to say yes, and Lord Trimble and the PUP's David Ervine led not only their own parties but unionism and loyalism in saying yes to peace.”

He added that “Martin McGuinness, along with Gerry Adams, will be remembered for the courage and leadership they showed in persuading the republican movement for peace”.

In a remark clearly aimed at the DUP and its ongoing refusal to re-enter Stormont, he later went on to say, to applause: “I make no apologies for being proud of Northern Ireland’s place in the Union and for wanting it to continue.

"Others who share that view should put the Union first, restore the devolved institutions and get on with the job of delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.

"Like David Trimble and David Ervine before in 1998, and Dr Paisley in 2006, real leadership is about knowing when to say yes and having the courage to do so.”

Mr Heaton-Harris also said that a narrative has emerged in recent times that “the agreement struck in 1998 did not achieve great things for unionism, that it was somehow all about wins for nationalism”.

"That narrative is wrong,” he said. “And all of us who support the agreement must be vocal in countering it.”

He noted that, before 1998, the Irish government’s constitution claimed the six counties of Northern Ireland as its own legitimate territory.

Nowadays, and thanks to the Good Friday Agreement, Mr Heaton-Harris said that claim has been revoked, adding: “That status can't be changed by the evil deeds of terrorists, or the words or wishes of politicians. The only thing that can change it is the will of the people of Northern Ireland.

"People tend to change the status quo only when the status quo is not working... devolved power-sharing institutions created a status quo that those of us who value Northern Ireland’s place in the Union can robustly and successfully promote and celebrate.

"So let no-one tell you power sharing is in any way at odds with unionism.

"Instead it is the surest way by which NI’s place within the union could be secured.”

More from this reporter:

• Northern Ireland Protocol: Ex-DUP leader Arlene Foster quotes Pete Tong and Einstein as she chides Prime Ministers for letting down 'loyal British citizens'

• Jim Allister publicly rejects Rishi Sunak's gala dinner invitation but adds 'some unionists are unable to resist a five-course-meal and high-level hob-nobbing'

• DUP boycott of Stormont serves to help prove republican point about Northern Ireland being a failed state, says Sir Reg Empey