Northern Ireland Protocol: Stormont recalled after Sinn Féin petition passes

Michelle O'Neill, with Finance Minister Conor Murphy, says voters expect members in the chamber

Northern Ireland's Assembly will meet on Monday after a successful petition to recall members back to Stormont.

The Democratic Unionist Party has blocked the establishment of the assembly since Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party in this month's election.

The DUP has refused to support the election of a new speaker or first and deputy first minister until there is "action" on the NI Protocol.

It comes as a US delegation is in Belfast meeting the five main parties.

The delegation's leader Congressman Richard Neal had been criticised for saying the protocol dispute was "manufactured", which the DUP said was "one-sided".

However, the DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the US politicians had shown "a greater understanding of unionist concerns" in a meeting with him on Thursday.

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"If their public response echoes what they said to us in the meeting, then some progress will have been made," he added.

Mr Neal said the meeting went "pretty well" with the DUP leader.

"The conversations we had probably 25 years ago were considerably more strenuous than the one we had today," he said.

He said the argument of the US delegation was "negotiate a solution to a satisfactory outcome".

Unionist politicians have been protesting against the protocol, which was part of the UK government's Brexit deal with the EU.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says US politicians showed an understanding of unionist concerns, including that the protocol undermined Northern Ireland's position in the UK

Designed to ensure free trade could continue across Ireland's land border post-Brexit, it has also resulted in additional checks being placed on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Sir Jeffrey has previously described this as undermining Northern Ireland's position in the UK.

For unionists this US fact finding mission will be remembered for two words, manufactured and planters.

Both caused offence when used by Congressman Neal to describe the protocol row and unionists living in Northern Ireland.

He may have rowed back from the remarks behind closed doors but there was no sense of a climbdown when Congressman Neal appeared in front of the cameras.

"No harm intended" was as close as he came.

But for the other Stormont parties, the DUP's outrage at Congressman Neal was manufactured to deflect from the party's Executive boycott.

The US visitors may not have found too many new facts about the protocol but they did discover where all the pressure points are.

'The people of Northern Ireland are suffering'

The Stormont recall petition was proposed by Sinn Féin on Wednesday in a bid to see a new speaker elected.

That election, which required cross-community support, is the first act that must happen after an election before the assembly can carry out any other business.

There are concerns that without a functioning government in Northern Ireland, the cost of living crisis cannot be addressed by politicians.

On Thursday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £1,000 payment for Northern Ireland's most vulnerable households, including a one-off cost of living payment.

The basics

• The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal: it means lorries don't face checkpoints when they go from Northern Ireland (in the UK) to the Republic of Ireland (in the EU)

• Instead, when goods arrive in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), they are checked against EU rules

• The UK and the EU chose this arrangement because the Irish border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland's troubled political history

Read more: Guide to the Brexit border problem

The petition needed 30 signatures to pass, and received the backing of Alliance and SDLP.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have now been summoned to the Stormont chamber on Monday by current Speaker Alex Maskey to debate the "urgent appointment" of ministers.

Sinn Féin's would-be first minister, Michelle O'Neill, said voters expected politicians to be in the assembly chamber.

Richard Neal, leading a delegation of US politicians, at Stormont with outgoing Speaker Alex Maskey

Speaking after meeting the US delegation at Stormont, Ms O'Neill said: "They expect us to be putting money into peoples pockets but the DUP are blocking all that.

"It's important we attempt to elect a speaker."

However Sir Jeffrey dismissed the recall as a Sinn Féin "stunt".

"If they think that pulling a stunt like this next Monday is going to change things, then they really don't understand unionism and our determination to stand our ground until we get the decisive action that is required to move us all forward."

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie confirmed his party would be at Stormont on Monday, "because that's our job".

"The people of Northern Ireland are suffering, we have the power to help them, and the way to do that is to get both the assembly and the executive up and running," he said.

'This is not a crisis, it is a problem to be solved'

Mr Beattie said he felt US representatives would emerge from Thursday's meetings "understanding the unionist position".

He added: "We were all in agreement to a degree that this is not a crisis, this is a problem and a problem to be solved."

Alliance MP Stephen Farry said there were "genuine" problems with the protocol, but unionism was not "helping itself" by walking away from solutions offered.

"The solution here has to be about partnership between the UK and the European Union, and we deeply understand the frustrations that the EU has with the approach that the UK has taken, but we also feel that creativity is required to get this over the line.

"We need to see more progress."

On Wednesday night, the American delegation was hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, who said the UK and the US were united in their shared commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.

DUP Mayor of Derry Graham Warke asked if the US visitors "could be careful with their words"

Earlier, the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, on a visit to County Antrim, said issues with the protocol were "soluble" but cannot be allowed to drift.

Businesses in Northern Ireland think the protocol can work - and want it to, the UK's biggest business association has said.

Tony Danker, the director general of the CBI, said: "If you're a manufacturer you have access to dual markets. That is a very big deal in the context of the overall Brexit fall out."