Stormont: Northern Ireland Assembly members recalled ahead of deadline

The Northern Ireland Assembly is set to be recalled ahead of Friday's deadline set by the government for restoring devolution.

Sinn Féin and Alliance have backed a motion to bring members back on Thursday to debate the cost-of-living crisis.

They are calling on the DUP to support the election of a Speaker and stop blocking the formation of an executive.

Friday, 28 October is the legal deadline for restoring power-sharing.

If this deadline is missed, another election would have to take place within 12 weeks.

A petition needs the signatures of 30 or more assembly members to be successful.

On Tuesday, the outgoing speaker Alex Maskey confirmed he had received notice from the required number of members.

They will return at 12:00 BST on Thursday to elect a Speaker.

In a letter to assembly members, Mr Maskey said members will debate the "deep concerns at the deepening cost-of-living crisis".

The motion "is further concerned that the ongoing instability at Westminster has compounded these financial pressures and supports the urgent convening of an executive to support our public services and provide urgent help for those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis".

Last week, Alliance had proposed a similar move but it was not backed by other parties.

The assembly has previously been recalled three times since May's election but on each occasion, the DUP has refused to back a new Speaker being in place.

No other business can take place until a Speaker is elected.

• Q&A: Is Northern Ireland going back to the polls?

The DUP has said it will not do so until the Northern Ireland Protocol is significantly changed.

The party has protested against the protocol, a part of the UK-EU Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland aligned with some EU trade rules.

This was designed to ensure goods could move freely across the Irish land border, from the UK into an EU member state, the Republic of Ireland.

However, in turn, the protocol imposed some new checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

'Get on with it'

Earlier, Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker posted a video on social media calling for the restoration of Stormont with the message for assembly members to "get on with it".

The video was taken when he was meeting civil society organisations in County Fermanagh.

In response, DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Mr Baker was in "no place to preach to the DUP or any other party" and said he should "sort out the protocol problem his party created and he voted for".