Joe Biden marks 25 years of Good Friday Agreement: Doug Beattie says 'I am no Biden superfan but recognising his office is important'

The UUP leader praised the fact Mr Biden also spoke of his Protestant ancestors and the contribution of Ulster-Scots people, as well as stressing his well-known Catholic Irish identity during his speech at Ulster University Belfast.

Mr Beattie also insisted that it is a case of “when, not if” the DUP drop their boycott of Stormont, which began last February in protest at the post-Brexit trade arrangements under which the Province operates.

"I thought giving those anecdotal stories about his family coming from Nottingham, and talking about his ancestors within the Royal Navy, were very good and drew people in to a side we didn't know about him," Mr Beattie told the News Letter.

"I thought making people understand [the role] the Ulster-Scots or Scots-Irish played in building up the US, that was really really important.

"But the thrust of the speech was about economics economic success... and ‘thank you’ to those people who gave us the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement which gave us, largely peace.”

Asked about those loyalists / unionists who reject Mr Biden, Mr Beattie said: “There's clearly people who don't welcome him…

"But sometimes I look at this and I say: You may not like Joe Biden, but think of the president of the US – whoever that's going to be – coming to NI and all he can do for us.

"And that's the important thing for me and I want to show Northern Ireland as a confident, positive, and welcoming place…

"It doesn't mean I'm a superfan of Joe Biden. But it still means I understand the position of the president of the US, no matter who holds it, is important to us in NI, and to the UK as well.”

It was put to him that, despite Mr Biden’s stated wish to restore devolution, the DUP are now committed to shunning Stormont.

"The DUP will be going back into government,” said Mr Beattie.

"It's not a case of if – it's a case of when. But they will be going back in.

"And people need to understand that. Eventually they'll go there.But it’ll be up to the DUP I suppose when they decide that time is right.”

Asked why he believes this, he said: "Who wants to be a rigorous implementer of the Windsor Framework?

"Because we could literally now get laws coming from the EU affecting Northern Ireland, and we have no say over it whatsoever.

"We can't even use the Stormont Brake, no matter how flawed it may be.

"It's not something we want as a party, we didn’t stand up and promote the Windsor Framework.

"But it's what our sovereign government has now decided is going to be in place.”

Below is a link to Mr Biden’s full address to Northern Ireland, recorded at 1pm, Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

He spoke for about 20 minutes, not always very audibly, about his ancestral roots in Britain and Ireland and about his hopes for peace in Northern Ireland.

You can watch the whole thing here and judge for yourself:

• WATCH / LISTEN for yourself: US president Joe Biden's full uncut address to Northern Ireland 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement

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