U-turn after Sinn Fein excludes DUP from Stormont leadership meeting

Justice Minister Naomi Long had earlier said the DUP must be invited to the meeting to discuss the resignation of the First Minister.

The Alliance Party leader said that Sinn Fein must invite the DUP to the meeting regardless of the fact that DUP first minister Paul Givan resigned yesterday which automatically removed Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill from her position.

Sinn Fein called for the meeting to discuss how to progress legislation in process before the assembly processes are suspended as a result of the resignation, but did not invite the DUP.

The PA news agency reported that Alliance Party leader Naomi Long told the BBC: “Whatever happened yesterday, the reality is that the DUP are still going to be part of the Assembly going forward, they are still going to be, after the elections, potentially involved in an Executive, so I don’t think it is helpful to have meetings without them present.

“I am happy to have the discussion but I do think we need to invite Jeffrey (Donaldson), whether or not he decides to turn up, of course, is a different matter.

“I am waiting to hear back in terms of the last correspondence I had with Michelle (O’Neill) yesterday, I am not sure but I am happy to go and to try and be constructive in what are very difficult circumstances.

“The priority for me is about trying to pick up the pieces here, deliver what we can for Northern Ireland in what is left of this mandate.”

However SDLP leader Colum Eastwood told the Nolan Show that the DUP has now been invited to the meeting.

“It is a bit farcical to be honest,” he said just after 10am this morning.

He said the meeting had originally been due to take place about 10am but was now postponed to allow for the DUP to attend.

Ms Long said the resignation of Paul Givan as Northern Ireland First Minister was “a fairly cynical electoral manoeuvre from the DUP”.

She added: “It stops us being able to make progress for people in Northern Ireland and there comes a point where if we are going to be serious about politics we need to be able to work through our difficulties.

“I am not denying there is a problem, I have never denied there is an issue with the protocol.

“I think it is as a direct consequence of Brexit that we are in this mess, which the DUP campaigned for and supported. We need to be really clear about how we ended up where we are.

“I am not denying there is a problem, but that problem won’t be solved by the Northern Ireland Executive not being able to meet.”

The DUP’s East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons said Sinn Fein’s attempt to exclude the DUP from the Party Leaders’ Forum is symbolic of the disrespect that party has for the people the DUP represents.

“This approach by Sinn Fein is a further demonstration of their petty politics of exclusion,” he said. “The days of Sinn Fein expecting unionists to be seen, but not heard are over.

“Power-sharing in Northern Ireland can only have meaning if it is based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.

“This exclusion demonstrates that Sinn Fein has no respect for the people we represent.

“For our part, the DUP is committed to working with all parties to repair our politics, reset relations and restore fairness for all.”

Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy said this morning he wants the parties to work together to progress what legislation they can and then have an early Assembly election.

“The DUP have been refusing to operate the North South Ministerial Council, they have been highly criticised in the courts for doing so for the last number of months; now they have brought down the Executive as well, and we can’t sit by and pretend that it’s business as usual and things are OK. I think we need to give the people their verdict in all of this,” he told the BBC.

Asked had Sinn Fein not invited the DUP to a meeting of the party leaders on Friday, Mr Murphy said they wanted to “talk to the other parties about trying to undo some of the damage that the DUP’s actions have brought about”.

He said if it is the view of UUP leader Doug Beattie and Alliance leader Naomi Long that the DUP has a contribution to make, Sinn Fein is “not precious about that”.

“But what we wanted to do was get a discussion with the other party leaders to say ‘Here’s the mess that has been created. How do we at least salvage the legislation part that’s going through the Assembly at the moment?’,” he said.

“The priority is to get the parties round the table and get this resolved. I would have preferred if the parties had come into the room today.”

Mr Murphy also described Thursday’s events and the resignation of deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in 2017 as “two very different situations”, adding that a scandal over a botched green energy scheme “would have brought down any coalition government in the Western world”.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson explained to RTE today why the DUP has taken their course of action.

“The Irish government and the EU have completely ignored the fact that no unionist elected representative in Northern Ireland supports the protocol. There is no Unionist consent for this protocol.”

He told RTE radio that all Stormont ministers will remain in place, despite the absence of the first and deputy first ministers.

“The Budget can go forward. There is provision in law for the departments to receive their budget. It will be based on the current level of spending, with the normal increase that is set by the Treasury.”

He also said that he believes Health Minister Robin Swann can act on Covid-19 regulations, despite the concerns raised in the last 24 hours.

“We believe the Minister of Health does have the legal authority to lift those restrictions under the UK Coronavirus Act.”

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that his party has been “very patient” around talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“The Assembly has not been suspended. The Assembly continues to operate fully as a legislature. Legislation will be considered in the Assembly right up to the date when the assembly is dissolved for the election. I think that we have been very patient,” he said.

He said that the protocol is causing “societal damage” to Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey added: “We waited months and months and months, and no progress has been made in the talks between the UK and the EU.

“Last week I met the Prime Minister in London. I asked the Prime Minister what his assessment was of the likelihood of agreement being reached with the EU by the deadline set by the EU, which is mid-February. The Prime Minister told me – I appreciate his candour – that he estimated probably between 20% and 30% chance of an agreement.” He said that Boris Johnson had not given a commitment to act unilaterally on the post-Brexit arrangements for the region in the absence of an agreement.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said the focus should now be on passing remaining legislation at Stormont, rather than an early Assembly election.

The SDLP deputy leader told the BBC: “People in Northern Ireland have already been robbed of three years in this mandate when Sinn Fein collapsed things, now the DUP is trying to collapse things and rob people of the very little time that we have left in this mandate.

“I think that we would best serve our citizens by doing our jobs and using every single minute that we have left to get the remaining legislation and regulation through the Assembly.

“An early election means a lot of that will fall.

“The SDLP is ready for an election, but we are also focused and believe everybody should be focused on legislation, and we shouldn’t give the DUP what they want, which is a very toxic and hostile backdrop so they can scare people to the polls.”

The Republic of Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said the resignation of Paul Givan as Northern Ireland First Minister is “very unwelcome” and means politics in the region cannot now function “as it should and needs to”.

Simon Coveney said DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had not given ongoing talks between the UK and the EU a chance, ahead of expected progress in the coming weeks.

“People are working night and day to respond to legitimate unionist concerns and anxieties.

“We are listening to unionism,” Mr Coveney told RTE radio.

He said that, while the move was unwelcome, it “doesn’t change much, actually, in the context of the negotiations”.

He also said that officials in the Department of Agriculture are continuing with post-Brexit checks on goods arriving from Great Britain, despite an order from DUP Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

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