Secretary of State steers clear of ‘agreement’ row but says deal is possible
THE Secretary of State has refused to speculate on whether a draft agreement was reached between the DUP and Sinn Fein before talks collapsed, saying she “wasn’t in the room” with the two parties during discussions.
The DUP has rejected Sinn Fein’s claims that the DUP leadership had approved a draft agreement which included an Irish Language Act.
Yesterday, Karen Bradley insisted that while she was “facilitating the discussions”, she wasn’t present during the talks, therefore it “wouldn’t be right” for her to “speculate on where those discussions have got to”.
“All I do know is that, from the feedback from both parties, that I believe a deal could be done, an accommodation could be reached, and that devolved government could be restored,” she said. “That’s what I’m working towards.”
Mrs Bradley also defended Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Northern Ireland on Monday.
Her visit was described as “a distraction” by Arlene Foster and Simon Hamilton, and “a clumsy intervention” by Gerry Adams.
The talks fell apart 48 hours later, with the two main parties blaming each other.
The Secretary of State said it was “absolutely right” that Mrs May should visit Northern Ireland, and appeared to suggest that the Prime Minister’s presence had been primarily due to her visit to Bombardier, rather than the talks process.
“The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” she continued.
“It’s absolutely right that she should come and visit Northern Ireland and that her visit to Bombardier, a fantastic local story, was something that she really wanted to do and I’m very pleased that she had the chance to do it and to be in Northern Ireland, as she is across the whole of the UK,” Mrs Bradley commented.
“Quite rightly she came to visit a great business in Northern Ireland, a big employer, a business that we want to see thrive and grow and really dedicate and devote itself to Northern Ireland.
“That’s what the Prime Minister was here to do.”
The Secretary of State also refused to be drawn on the role of a potential Irish Language Act in the talks.
“I don’t want to get into the detail of what’s been discussed or where parties have got to,” she insisted. “I wasn’t in those discussions, I wasn’t part of those discussions.
“I think though that what’s important is that politicians put aside our differences wherever possible and come together to govern for the people of Northern Ireland.
“That’s what the people of Northern Ireland expect.”
When asked if the talks process has “lost all credibility” and if she would consider imposing a deadline, Mrs Bradley said she would be “considering all the options over the weekend”.
Admitting it had been a difficult week, she said: “We worked extraordinarily hard to do our very best to enable an Executive to be formed and I still believe that can be done, with the will of the politicians to deliver what the people of Northern Ireland want and need: their elected politicians doing the right thing and delivering devolved government for the people of Northern Ireland.”
She added: “I am here to help them deliver that.”
The Secretary of State is due to make a statement on the latest position in Northern Ireland to the House of Commons on Tuesday.