Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent

It has taken 726 days but DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson couldn’t have been clearer that his party is now firmly on the path back to power sharing.

But note the many times Sir Jeffrey mentioned “subject to”.

A reminder that there are terms and conditions attached to this deal - though the government has already said it intends to deliver on them.

But several questions remain. How quickly can this all fall into place? Could we have Stormont up and running again within the week?

And while Sir Jeffrey batted away suggestions of unhappiness among some within his ranks, we don’t know what the outcome of the vote was as he didn’t share it.

"Decisive" was the word he used repeatedly to describe the result, but there may be others in the party set against the course the DUP is now embarking upon.

Image source, PA Media

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris says the move by the DUP is "a welcome and significant step", adding that parties entitled to form an executive will meet later on Tuesday.

“I am grateful to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and colleagues for the constructive dialogue over the past months and to the other political parties in Northern Ireland for the patience they have shown during this time," he adds.

"I am pleased the DUP have agreed to accept the package of measures that the UK government has put forward and as a result they are ready to return to the Northern Ireland Assembly and nominate representatives to the Northern Ireland Executive.

“Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said this is subject to the binding commitments between the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK government - I can confirm that we will stick to this agreement."

The DUP leader finished up a few moments ago, but here's a round-up of what he said as his party endorsed a deal to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.

• The DUP executive endorses the deal subject to the government implementing agreed legislation, said Sir Jeffrey
• It came after a meeting of the 120 or so members of the party's executive that lasted about five hours
• Sir Jeffrey said the party worked hard to get a deal "that matters to unionism and nationalism alike" and that the vote in the party had been decisive
• He added that the legislation agreed with the government will protect the Acts of Union and "remove checks on goods moving within the UK and remaining in Northern Ireland"
• Sir Jeffrey also said social media reports of what happened in the meeting were a "misrepresentation" of the actual events

Sir Jeffrey says he's satisfied that the deal endorsed by his party meets the party's "seven tests", which it said it would use to evaluate any agreement to return to power sharing.

"I am satisfied on the progress we have made on all those seven tests," he adds.

However he states that now "the government has to deliver, from its side".

He also stated that he believes, when the details of proposals are made public, they will "exceed the expectations of many".

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says that the DUP accepted the result of the election in May 2022, when Sinn Féin became the first nationalist party to win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

He adds: "I say to my fellow unionists, when will we learn? A divided unionism is not a recipe for winning elections.

"Part of what we are seeking is to ensure that the case for the Union is made.

"For the Union to succeed, we need to see Northern Ireland work."

When asked about the public sector worker strikes, Sir Jeffrey says: "I want to get investment into Northern Ireland and I want to get the funding that we need for our public sector workers."

When asked about tweets by loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson claiming to give details from the executive meeting earlier, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that he he had "not yet seen what was all on Twitter" but that "what was being reported on social media does not reflect what was happening in that meeting".

"It was a misrepresentation of what was said and what was happening," he adds.

“But it disappoints me that there may have been someone in that meeting who may have been prepared to share information."

He says the word betrayal was reported to have been said in the meeting and he says no-one was ever used that word within the party.

On the question of the vote, the DUP leader says the vote had been decisive and that he had been mandated to operate on that.

The specific details of the deal have yet to be published but Sir Jeffrey said he was “confident” in the progress he had achieved.

And he said he believed the government could move “quickly” to bring forward legislation to implement what has been agreed with the DUP.

Sir Jeffrey says the legislation agreed with Westminster will "remove checks on goods moving within the UK and remaining in NI, and end NI blindly following EU laws".

He adds: "There will be legislation protecting the Acts of Union, which guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland business to the rest of the UK."

Regardless of who forms the next UK government, these measures will be taken as "legislative commitments", he says.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson began by apologising for the late wait, adding that the party has worked hard to get a deal that matters for unionism and nationalism alike.

"Prior to our decision we warned that a failure to deal with the protocol - its disruptive impact was putting us in a unsustainable position.

"Having taken a strong and principled stance - we were able to bring the UK government and the EU commission to negotiations."

He added that more work was needed to progress over the last few years.

"We have worked with the UK government in the recent months - so that Northern Ireland has the best chance for long-term prosperity.

"Where it can make a long and meaningful life for the people of Northern Ireland."

He added all aspects of the deal had been looked at by the government.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said the DUP executive have endorsed a deal and that the party will restore devolution in Northern Ireland if the government passes new legislation, as agreed.

We're on - Sir Jeffrey has just approached the microphones. Press the play button at the top of the page to watch live.

As BBC News NI political correspondent Jayne McCormack pointed out on X almost an hour ago, external, things very rarely run on time when it comes to politics...

The DUP's executive meeting, if it's still going on (and we've had no indication it isn't), has almost reached five hours now.

A reminder that tonight's meeting is happening at Larchfield Estate, but Sir Jeffrey's expected news conference will take place at a different location - the media are there and continue to play the waiting game...

Jake Wood
BBC News NI

Ben Lowry, editor of Northern Ireland newspaper the News Letter, has been giving his thoughts to BBC Newsnight.

He says there is a "fundamental divide on the return to Stormont" in the DUP.

"There was always a rupture coming, between the pragmatism of being involved in government and the essence of the DUP as a very unionist party.

"The EU Law will continue to apply (in Northern Ireland) and that's a very big deal for unionists to accept."

Before Christmas, talks between the government and Northern Ireland's main political parties led to an offer of a financial package worth £3.3bn if devolved government returned.

Lowry says the DUP's own talks with the government also involves a financial element.

"There will unquestionably be money involved. That makes the DUP potentially more popular with people who are not unionists, and more moderate unionists.

"More hardline unionists will think, the DUP has gone for money once again, something Sinn Féin will never do."

It's been more than four hours since the DUP's executive meeting began - and, as our political correspondent Gareth Gordon said in the previous post, it may be a while before we hear from the party's leader.

So here's a look at what we've learned so far:

• DUP executive members have been briefed by leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on the contents of a possible deal, which could see the party return to power-sharing government in Northern Ireland
• BBC News NI understands that the party's 12-strong officer board have already made a decision on a deal and that executive members would be informed of their decision tonight
• Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson live tweeted what he claimed was the latest from inside the room, saying that the meeting was halted over media leaks
• He claimed Sir Jeffrey told the meeting the police were trying to "block phone signals" in the venue but a PSNI spokesperson told us it has no involvement in this
• Protesters from the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and other hardline unionists gathered outside the entrance of Larchfield Estate, where the meeting is taking place, and greeted DUP members with heckles, jeers and placards proclaiming "Stop DUP sellout"
• Earlier, Sir Jeffrey met party MPs and peers at DUP HQ in east Belfast, ahead of travelling to Larchfield

Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

The wait for Sir Jeffrey Donaldson goes on - we're hearing his news conference could come past midnight as the meeting continues.

We aren't there yet (we're still waiting to hear whether the meeting has ended, never mind whether the party will go for a deal) - but if the DUP went back to Stormont, what would happen?

First of all, Stormont hasn't functioned since the DUP withdrew in early 2022 - and the make up of the Northern Ireland Assembly has changed since then.

In May 2022, Sinn Féin won the most seats in the assembly elections - a first for a nationalist party - winning 27 seats.

The DUP won 25, becoming the second largest party, but the result means Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill would be entitled to become first minister, with the DUP appointing a deputy first minister.

Image source, Getty Images

These are joint roles and, under the rules of power sharing, one cannot function without the other - hence why when the DUP walked out, devolved government collapsed in its wake.

If the DUP agrees to return, however, the first order of business would be the election of a Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker and then the appointment of ministers.

There have been seven recalls of the Northern Ireland Assembly since the DUP walked out, and each time there has been a vote to elect a speaker the party has blocked it, which prevented the assembly from forming.

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson appears to be inching towards lifting his party's veto on power sharing - but he is facing opposition from some in his own party and from other hardline unionists who gathered outside Larchfield Estate tonight.

Demonstrators gathered at the gates to shout at DUP members urging them not to agree to a new deal to restore the devolved government.

If Sir Jeffrey does get the support of his party for a new deal it’s likely to be conditional on legislation being brought forward at Westminster to secure that fresh agreement.

It's not entirely clear whether the DUP executive meeting - which began about three hours ago - has ended yet but we expect to hear from party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson when it wraps up.

He's due to speak at a news conference and you'll be able to watch it live by pressing the play button at the top of the page when it begins.

Image source, Getty Images

At the heart of the DUP's boycott of power-sharing government is its protest against post-Brexit trade checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain - now known as the Windsor Framework.

The reason the framework is needed is because of Brexit - before the UK left the EU, trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was simple as both were in the EU and shared the same trade rules.

However, when Northern Ireland left the EU, a deal was required to allow trade to continue across the Irish border - and that proved to be a huge headache for all sides.

One of the major issues was the possible introduction of border checks on the island of Ireland itself - but because of Northern Ireland's troubled political history, that idea is politically extremely sensitive.

Instead, the UK and the EU agreed on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which introduced checks at Northern Ireland's ports for goods coming from Great Britain.

This caused widespread opposition among unionists, which saw it as diminishing the region's place within the UK internal market - and so Northern Ireland's place in the UK itself.

A new deal, called the Windsor Framework, aimed at addressing those concerns, was agreed in February 2023 between the government and the European Union - but the DUP said it did not go far enough.

You can read more about it all here.

Image source, CHARLES MCQUILLAN

He's the man at the centre of everything that's going on tonight, as his party faces a decision on whether or not it will go back into devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey became DUP leader in June 2021, but has been in politics since he was 16 when he joined the Young Unionist movement.

However it was in the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) - and not the DUP - where he made his reputation as a young politician. He was first elected in 1985 to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing South Down.

However, he was a fierce critic of the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace deal which ended the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles - and warned his leader David Trimble against supporting it.

In 2003, after years of refusing to support party policy and supporting failed bids to oust Mr Trimble, he quit the party and defected to the DUP.

He was at the heart of a major negotiation as the DUP agreed a confidence-and-supply deal with the Conservative Party and was heavily involved in talks to reach a Brexit deal with the EU.

Sir Jeffrey has been elected to Westminster seven times and now he has the power to bring Stormont back.

Read more here.