SF using Twelfth as cover for lack of engagement: DUP

DUP MP Gavin Robinson has slammed Sinn Fein for blaming the Twelfth of July for a lack of progress in talks to restore devolution.

By The Newsroom

Published 4th Jul 2019, 11:51 BST

The East Belfast representative spoke out after Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy criticised the pace of political talks to revive Stormont, claiming they have gone into “go-slow” mode.

“I think it is long past time that politics in this part of the island is closed down to facilitate people marching on the 12th of July,” Mr Murphy said.

Responding, Mr Robinson said: “For Sinn Fein to use the Twelfth of July as cover for their lack of engagement this week is totally inaccurate.”

The DUP man said Sinn Fein failed to provide negotiators on Tuesday or yesterday, and he accused the republican party of “seeking to use the Twelfth of July to cover their own leadership’s inability to decide what direction to move”.

Mr Robinson reiterated that the DUP wants the institutions to be “restored immediately and the talks to take place in parallel”.