Stormont: DUP officers meet to consider Stormont deal

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said progress had been made in talks with the government

A meeting of the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) officers took place on Friday as the party considers a potential return to Stormont.

The party collapsed the executive 22 months ago in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements.

The DUP has been asking for new legislation to address its concerns.

The government is lobbying hard to restore Stormont before next Tuesday, so the legislation can be laid before Parliament before its Christmas recess.

The recess period runs from 20 December to 7 January.

On Thursday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was "approaching the time" for a decision.

The DUP is Stormont's second largest party but it has been blocking a functioning assembly and executive since February 2022.

Its boycott began as a protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol, and later the Windsor Framework - two international agreements which set out how Northern Ireland trades with Great Britain after Brexit.

The DUP has argued the rules undermine Northern Ireland's place in the UK internal market by introducing additional checks on the movement of goods.

'Significant progress'

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government was ready to legislate to protect Northern Ireland's position and would work "at pace".

Sir Jeffrey said he had been "refining" those issues with the government.

"Significant progress" had been made he told BBC News NI, but any deal would need the approval of DUP officers.

This body has 12 members, including Sir Jeffrey and the DUP's deputy leader, Gavin Robinson.

BBC News NI understands that Sir Jeffrey has given a guarantee to his party executive - which is made up of more than 100 members - that they will be able to discuss any decision made by DUP officers.

• What's in NI's new offer to fund public services?

• DUP 'approaching a decision' on Stormont return

• Is Sir Jeffrey tiptoeing his way back to Stormont?

Mr Sunak said new legislation must go hand-in-hand with a deal to restore Stormont, with the government offering £2.5bn in a financial package.

Stormont's largest parties have said the £2.5bn is not enough, which the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he will discuss with the prime minister.

The DUP do not like their officer board meetings taking place under a microscope.

Perhaps they knew how critical and how sensitive this particular board gathering was and the last thing they wanted was to have cameras outside the door pinning officer board members as they left to ask them what exactly happened inside.

We know Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been writing to members via email pretty often lately, and some of those emails have found their way into the public domain.

That's one to watch out for to get a handle on what exactly has happened.

Whatever happened in Friday's meeting will, at some stage, have to be conveyed to the wider party.

On Thursday, Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said "there never has been and there is no excuse now" for the DUP to continue its Stormont boycott.

Speaking to BBC's The View, he said despite the fact Sir Jeffrey said he is not in any rush, many people do not have the luxury of time.

"What the people want to see is an executive and an assembly formed without delay so that we can begin to tackle the problems that are there that we all know about that grow on a daily basis," he added.

John Finucane said the DUP should accept the deal and get back into Stormont

Alliance Party MLA Andrew Muir said he was "tired and fed up" with the DUP's 22-month protest. He said the party had been turning its back on opportunities for Northern Ireland.

Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader Robbie Butler said he believed the DUP will go for the deal, adding: "If any unionist was serious about protecting the union, they need to be making people's lives better here, and not impacting [them]."

Endgame approaching

Sir David Sterling, a former head of Northern Ireland's civil service, said the "hugely significant" financial package offered by the government suggests the endgame is close, and any decision should be made as soon as possible.

"History shows, experience shows, that if you allow too much time between getting close to the end and actually getting over the line, the mice can get at it," he told The View.

"I just get the sense that the parties all individually now have reached this place where they feel now is the time to do this deal, including the DUP."

Momentum to restore Stormont could be lost if discussions continue over Christmas break, Sir David warned

On Friday, Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood said he thinks a deal to restore Stormont is "nearly there" and the assembly could be recalled as early as next week.

"That is with all the usual caveats because the DUP could do anything but I think they are now at the point where they have to do this deal," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today.

He added legislation could be laid before Westminster on Monday or Tuesday.

"There's no other way of doing this," he continued. "We have a week left before Christmas and and I just don't believe this could go on beyond Christmas."