The UK government still believes a deal can be done between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party aimed at restoring power-sharing to Stormont, the Northern Ireland secretary has said.Karen Bradley insisted she and her colleagues in the Irish government wanted to get the talks between the two main parties represented in the deadlocked Northern Ireland assembly back on track.
Bradley defended the prime minister’s intervention in the ill-fated talks after criticism that her visit to Northern Ireland had proved a distraction. She insisted it was right that Theresa May had visited on Monday, and appeared to suggest her tour of the Bombardier aircraft factory in Belfast, before meeting the politicians at Stormont, was the main purpose of her visit.
“The prime minister is the prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is absolutely right that she should come and visit Northern Ireland,” Bradley said. “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 itself to Northern Ireland, and that’s what the prime minister was here to do.”
On Wednesday, the talks came to an abrupt halt after the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, announced her party could not accept a package that included a standalone Irish language act.
Sinn Féin later claimed the DUP had in fact signed up last weekend to a compromise deal that included an Irish language act in parallel with other legislation aimed at protecting unionist cultural rights in the region.
Speaking on Friday morning at Victoria Square shopping centre in central Belfast, Bradley tried to sound optimistic about a fresh round of negotiations.
“I will do all I can to get devolved government back into Stormont because I genuinely believe that that is the best thing for the people of Northern Ireland,” she said.
Bradley dodged questions about Sinn Féin’s claim that an agreement had been struck, saying she could not comment as she was not involved in the talks.
She is due to update MPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday on the government’s plans to revive the negotiations.