Northern Ireland Office ‘has behind-the-scenes ​​​​​​​plan​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ to activate Daithi’s Law from London’

The NIO had been publicly stressing that it wants to see Stormont restored so that it can put the finishing touches needed to the organ donation law.

Doing so via Westminster would take much longer, the NIO said.

But this morning Stephen Nolan has said that "behind the scenes [the NIO] has promised the DUP he will back their tactic of avoiding Stormont to get that legislation through".

NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris “had a private arrangement with the DUP last week, and he promised them he would back their tactic of putting the organ donation bill through Westminster instead".

This, said Mr Nolan, had been “stood up with a number of sources”.

The alternative to Stormont would be pushing the law through as an amendment to a largely-unrelated bill called The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, which will extend the period for Executive Formation to January 2024.

The NIO has cautioned however that attaching such an amendment would be difficult.

Paula Bradshaw of the Alliance Party, also speaking on the show, told Mr Nolan that, during talks last Thursday, “he said to all MPs that he would support them to go and speak to the clerk [at Westminster] to put pressure on the speaker to adopt the amendment… this is no secret”.

A fortnight ago, Mr Heaton-Harris had said in a letter to the main NI parties: "I am asking my officials to explore possible avenues for the UK Government to progress this issue, should the Assembly fail to do so.

"I would also like to remind MPs from the Northern Ireland parties of the other Parliamentary routes to progress this legislation that continue to be available to them, namely the opportunities that exist to introduce Private Members' Bills etc.”

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson told the News Letter this morning: “As the Secretary of State has previously stated, the quickest and simplest way to implement Dáithí’s Law is for the NI parties to affirm the legislation in the NI Assembly.

“The Department for Health has laid the statutory rule to enable the Assembly to progress the legislation meaning that the election of a Speaker would allow this important and life-saving piece of legislation to be addressed this week.

“The Executive Formation Bill is focused solely on the Executive Formation period and the Secretary of State's corresponding election duty and, as such, it consists of one substantive clause only.

"The scope of the Bill is therefore very narrow, and amendments on issues other than the Executive formation period are highly unlikely to be in scope.

"The Secretary of State urges the NI parties to come together on this and reminds them that people in Northern Ireland expect and deserve the devolved institutions to be functioning fully."

The DUP has stressed that it is being “guided by our mandate” in its refusal to resurrect devolution, ahead of today’s noon sitting of the Assembly.

The DUP has been boycotting Stormont for just over a year now in protest against the NI Protocol.

This latest recall is to discuss Daithi’s Law – named after six-year-old Belfast heart transplant candidate Daithi Mac Gabhann.

It will replace the current system where a person must opt-in to being a donor with one in which people are automatically assumed to be donors unless they opt out.

Stormont passed a bill last year laying the groundwork for the new law, but MLAs must vote through some further details before it can be activated.

That is the ostensible reason why Stormont has been recalled.

There is no onus on MLAs to turn up, and there is no penalty if they do not.

But whether they do or not, no business will actually get done because the DUP will refuse to nominate a new speaker or any deputies – a pre-requisite for a sitting to take place.

This is because a supposedly one-off revival of Stormont could actually open the door to a general return of the assembly because, if the DUP helped elect a speaker and deputies, even if they quit after Daithi’s Law is passed MLAs can continue to meet.

In a message to his party colleagues setting out the position at the weekend, Sir Jeffrey restated his belief that Daithi’s Law was being used by some politicians as “blackmail for the return of devolution”.

“Westminster is sovereign and can resolve the issue quickly,” he said.

“Given Sinn Fein’s politicking on the matter, let’s see if they take their seats in Westminster to help pass this law in the House of Commons. We won’t hold our breath.

“The DUP is representing its electorate and there will be no return to a fully functioning Stormont without unionists.”

And in a statement yesterday the party’s NI Protocol spokesman Gordon Lyons rammed home the message further, saying: “Tuesday’s sitting will be the fifth time the NI Assembly has been recalled since last year’s election.

“On each of the four previous occasions those who submitted the recall petition knew in advance that a speaker would not be elected and those bringing MLAs to Stormont once again know the outcome will be the same.

“Warnings that devolution and the protocol were incompatible were ignored by many of the same parties who now feign surprise that the DUP continues to be guided by our mandate.”