‘Daft question’... O’Neill hits back after she’s asked if party supports a return to violence
SINN Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill has stressed that her party would not support a return to violence in Northern Ireland.
It followed a question from Sky News presenter Adam Boulton during an interview on the All Out Politics programme yesterday.
After discussing a new Brexit proposal from the EU, Mrs O’Neill was asked about a return to violence in Northern Ireland.
The Sinn Fein politician said she thought it was a “daft question” and questioned why she was asked.
“Nobody wants to see us return to the borders of the past, that’s why we’re saying how devastating, how catastrophic, what it means to have a situation where they would start to reimpose border checks on our island,” the Mid Ulster MLA said.
“One of the biggest symbols of our peace has been the dismantling of our borders and the British Government wants to bring us back there again.
“I would never speak of potentially what could happen in the event of customs checks, for example, being put back on the island of Ireland or any other kind of border infrastructure, but clearly there is no interest in going backwards.”
Mr Boulton said Mrs O’Neill may think it’s a “daft question”, but asked again “as Sinn Fein deputy leader” if she wouldn’t want to see a return to violence.
“Of course we wouldn’t Adam, that’s a wholly unacceptable question for you to pose to me as a political leader of a political party who has been to the core of the peace process, who has brought us through 21 years of a peace process, who are fighting very hard for the Good Friday Agreement and that peace process which this British Government seem very intent on wrecking,” she said.