Northern Ireland Assembly elections: Poll looms as NIO spokesperson tells the News Letter: "Joint authority is not being considered.

The DUP again refused to nominate ministers to the executive, ahead of the government’s midnight deadline for a fresh poll, despite a plea from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to do so.

A spokesman for Mr Sunak said: “There’s still time for the DUP and executives to get back to Stormont and we urge them to do so because the people of Northern Ireland deserve a fully functioning and locally elected executive which can respond to the issues facing the communities there.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson remains adamant that his party will not nominate ministers because not enough progress has been made on addressing issues of concern around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Donaldson said: “That remains our position and so today we will not be supporting the nomination of ministers to the executive.”

Speaking in the chamber at the special sitting of the assembly, his party colleague Paul Givan contended that the unionist mandate has been “disrespected”, and said power-sharing has to be “about consent, not contempt”.

Mr Givan said: “The DUP supports devolution. We are ready to appoint ministers today.

"The barrier to devolution is not the DUP. It is the Northern Ireland Protocol.”

In the past week the Alliance Party, Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the taoiseach have all said that some form of joint authority with Dublin should follow Stormont ministers losing their seats today.

However, last night a NIO spokesperson told the News Letter: "Joint authority is not being considered.

"The UK government is absolutely clear that the consent principle governs the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.”

The spokesperson added: "We will not countenance any arrangements that are inconsistent with that principle."