Direct rule will give Dublin role

In a wide ranging interview in today’s News Letter, Mr Beattie said there was a “silliness” among some unionists in believing Direct Rule would only be operated by London based ministers.

His warning over an Anglo-Irish form of Direct Rule comes as protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol intensify with three separate rallies in North and East Belfast as well as Newbuildings taking place over Friday and Saturday nights.

Referring to unionists who have called for Stormont’s collapse from anti-Protocol platforms, Mr Beattie said: “The silliness of it is that some of those people think that because we don’t have an Executive it will mean direct rule from London but it won’t be.”

The UUP leader pointed to the ‘New Decade, New Deal Approach” document which led to the last Executive’s formation two years ago as evidence of how much real influence Dublin can exercise during a period of Direct Rule.

The UUP leader said: “If you look at the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ paper it was brought forward by the Westminster Government and the Dublin Government.“

He continued: “Direct rule will have an element of Dublin rule if that is where we are going.

“It’s worth mentioning that whenever ‘New Decade, New Approach’ was being launched it was Simon Coveney (Irish Foreign Minister) and then Secretary of State Julian Smith announcing it while we in the UUP were still reading the document. We hadn’t even finished it when the two of them launched it over our heads.

“This was a deal produced in London and Dublin.

“Think about it - the return of Direct Rule will have Dublin input.

“I just can’t understand why people cannot and will not see that.”

“Those who want to wreck devolution are going down a road that will not leave unionism in a stronger position,” he added.

In his interview Mr Beattie stressed that the only way to properly strengthen unionism and the Union was “to make Northern Ireland work and to make that happen we need public services controlled locally by a government here.”