Hollywood star Liam Neeson urges NI politicians to 'get back to work'

Ballymena-born Hollywood veteran Liam Neeson has issued a stark message to Northern Ireland politicians to get back to work.

The Schindler’s List star expressed frustration, which many are surely feeling by this stage, at the Stormont impasse over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The devolved powersharing institutions are currently non-operational due to the DUP boycott in protest at economic barriers on trade moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

The EU and UK have recently agreed a fresh deal to address issues with the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol trading arrangements, but the DUP has yet to sign up to the new Windsor Framework agreement masterminded by Rishi Sunak, his team and EU officials, and Stormont remains accordingly out of action.

The framework would reduce checks on Northern Ireland destined goods arriving from GB with the creation of a green lane, with products set for onward transit into the Republic of Ireland entering via a red lane.

In an interview on RTE's The Late Late Show on Friday night, New York-based Neeson, 70, was asked whether he keeps up to date with political developments back home.

"I try to," he said. "Certainly, with the whole protocol and stuff there's a part of you wants to say 'come on for God's sake, we are talking about sausages here and the s*** that's going on in the Middle East and Ukraine of course'.

"But they're working their way through it and, you know, there's no border and there's going to be a green lane and a red lane. How many months did that take to think 'hey, let's think of a green lane and a red lane'?

"And get back to work for God's sake. You are drawing a salary. Get back to work, represent the people, all the people."

Neeson currently stars in Marlowe, which will be his 100th film, and tells the story of a brooding detective hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress in LA.

His role is based on the famous character created by the much-lauded American-British author Raymond Chandler.

The film premiered in London this week.