Good Friday Agreement and Windsor Framework: Chris Heaton-Harris planning 'punishment attack budget' on Northern Ireland, says DUP MP

There are no Stormont ministers at present to set their own budget because the DUP withdrew from the Assembly in protest at post Brexit trading arrangements which leave NI in the EU customs and – they say therefore weakens the UK union.

DUP MP Ian Paisley has hit back that the budget “threats” which he said were prefaced with the excuse that Mr Heaton-Harris is doing this “in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive”.

But Mr Paisley said this approach is "threatening British children, British patients, and British people, in Northern Ireland for being British and for opposing his anti British Windsor Framework".

The framework - agreed by the EU and UK - is intended to assuage unionist concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements undermining their union with GB, in constitutional and trade terms.

Mr Paisley added: "The Windsor Framework undermines the Northern Ireland economy and our position within the UK yet the Secretary of State threatens us to accept it or face punishing cuts to our services."

He said that Mr Heaton-Harri's claims that any cut is because there is no Executive presupposes that if power sharing was restored "suddenly from somewhere there would be loads of money and resources that for some mysterious reason would just appear".

He added: "The Secretary of State must think the people of Northern Ireland are daft, that they can’t see through his threats and his punishment attack on the British people of Northern Ireland."

However, a spokeswoman for Mr Heaton Harris responded that NI is itself responsible for its own financial difficulties and affirmed that he would indeed impose a "tough" budget.

"Due to long term financial mishandling of the finances in Northern Ireland, the next budget will be tough, but the UK Government is committed to helping the people of Northern Ireland," she said.