The new Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn meets Stormont leaders at Hillsborough Castle
The new Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has met with Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly at Hillsborough Castle.
In his first visit to the province since taking the position, the Labour Party MP also met with representatives of other Stormont parties.
Mr Benn further echoed what the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer said, about re-setting relations with the Republic of Ireland.
He said: “I wanted to get to work as quickly as possible and was therefore pleased to be able to hold these initial discussions with the first and deputy first Ministers, and representatives from the other parties.
“My immediate priorities are to establish a new relationship between the UK government and the Northern Ireland executive as we work together to foster economic growth and prosperity, and to improve public services.
“I want to ensure that we have a system in place for addressing the legacy of the past in a way that wins support from victims’ families and that all communities can have confidence in, and which is compliant with human rights.”
Mr Benn said that the new UK government was firmly committed to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
He added: “We will work hard to deliver its vision for reconciliation, equality, respect for rights and parity of esteem.”
The secretary of state said his meeting with the Sinn Fein first minister and DUP deputy first minister was “very constructive”.
“I look forward to building on our relationship in the months ahead,” he said.
Mr Benn also said that the UK government’s relationship with Dublin is of “great importance”.
He said: “As our nearest neighbour and co-guarantor of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, our relationship with Ireland is of great importance.
“The new UK government will work closely with the Irish government to reset and strengthen the relationship between our two countries.”
On Friday evening, the new UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Irish premier Simon Harris have committed to reset and strengthen Anglo-Irish relations “with urgency and ambition”.
The Taoiseach “warmly congratulated” Sir Keir on his appointment and said he looked forward to having a “close and constructive” working relationship.
Mr Harris also accepted an invite to visit Downing Street on July 17.
“The Taoiseach and the prime minister spoke of their shared determination to reset and strengthen the bilateral relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom and to set about that task with urgency and ambition,” a statement said.
“They discussed Northern Ireland, welcoming the restoration of the institutions, including the full operation of North-South and East-West Good Friday Agreement institutions, as well as legacy issues.”