Power sharing talks continue

Failure to strike a power sharing deal in Northern Ireland will have “serious” implications, the British Government has warned.

Last-ditch negotiations led by the British and Irish governments on restoring a coalition ministerial executive at Stormont extended late into the night on Tuesday and continued yesterday.

The parties have until 4pm today to nominate ministers or face the prospect of direct rule from Westminster or another assembly election.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said he would work with all parties to ensure issues were considered carefully.

The two largest parties in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein, remain at loggerheads over key issues like introducing an Irish Language Act.

While it would be a major confidence-building measure for nationalists, DUP leader Arlene Foster has refused to consider it.

Mrs Foster was forced from office in January when Sinn Fein’s then deputy first minister, the late Martin McGuinness, quit in protest at the DUP’s handling a scheme that left the administration facing a £490 million overspend.

His move triggered a snap assembly election in March.

A number of attempts to restore power sharing following that poll floundered, with three deadlines for a deal having already been missed.