NI Secretary says 'it may not have been wise' to invite Mary Lou McDonald for talks given she is from an EU state

It had already been claimed that the reason she was not invited was down to diplomatic protocol, namely that it would have been improper for the new UK foreign minister James Cleverly to meet with Mrs McDonald – the leader of the opposition in the Republic of Ireland – before first meeting with Ireland’s governing foreign minister.

Given this, both Sinn Fein and the SDLP refused to attend the scheduled meeting in protest.

Now Mr Heaton-Harris has indicated there is another factor at play.

Speaking on Thursday morning, as more political talks were underway, Mr Heaton-Harris said: “Sinn Fein were invited, it is a shame Michelle (O’Neill) didn’t come along because it was an update on the protocol discussions.

“There are many factors which go into the thought process. One, to be quite frank, is that the UK Government is negotiating with the European Union.

“We wanted to update Northern Ireland parties on that negotiation and, with the greatest of respect, Mary Lou is a representative of a parliament in an EU member state.

“That might not have been seen as a wise thing to do.”

Irish Foreign minister Micheal Martin said he discussed issues around the legacy of Northern Ireland’s troubled past with Mr Heaton-Harris when they met today, at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down.

He said he expressed “serious concerns” around the Government’s legacy bill which is currently making its way through Parliament.

“There will be ongoing contact in relation to that,” he told reporters.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said he had a “very good meeting” with Mr Heaton-Harris – their first encounter since each took up their new posts.

Meanwhile Downing Street has declined to set “deadlines, timelines” on talks aimed at overcoming the row over the post-Brexit trading relationship.

Asked about reports the UK and EU are preparing to enter a negotiating “tunnel”, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We are not setting deadlines, timelines.

“We do want to resolve these issues quickly, but there are still significant gaps that need to be resolved.

“Obviously it’s good to be having these discussions but the key issues with the protocol still remain.”

The Tanaiste described “substantive discussions”, adding “obviously both governments remain very focused on the need to get the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement restored, particularly the assembly, the executive and the north-south bodies”.

“We also discussed a range of other issues, of course the ongoing situation in relation to the talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom’s Government.

“Progress has been made as evidenced by the statement earlier this week on the sharing of data and we both updated each other in respect of the ongoing discussions we have had at European level with Maros Sefcovic.”

More on this story:

• 1 – Sinn Fein talks walk-out: 'If people want to be petulant it is up to them' says Ulster Unionist leader

• 2 – TUV asks why Mary Lou McDonald feels entitled to be part of talks about NI when she has 'no mandate' here

• 3 – Unionists should catch up with others and start using human rights language more, MPs are told