DUP leader tells Chuck Schumer to ‘read a history book’ as Brexit jostling continues in Washington
The DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that Chuck Schumer needs to read some history books, after the US Senate majority leader urged the DUP to go back into Stormont.
The comments came at the annual Ireland Funds dinner in Washington, attended by Irish political leaders including Leo Varadkar and powerful US figures like House speaker Kevin McCarthy and Mr Schumer, the most senior politician in the Senate.
Mr Schumer used his address to encourage the DUP to endorse the Windsor Framework, the new UK-EU post-Brexit deal announced last month.
“Now the Windsor Framework has been announced,” Mr Schumer said, “I sincerely hopes it clears the way for the DUP to join Sinn Fein in a power-sharing agreement.”
“I say to all parties in the North, but especially the DUP, let’s get to the people’s business, the business of power-sharing and self-governing.”
He continued that “as majority leader of the United States Senate which decides on treaties, I will not support any trade deal between the US and the UK if any settlement undermines the Good Friday Agreement”.
Sir Jeffrey told Sky News: “I would urge the senator to read some history books. Maybe he’d learn a little bit more about what really happens and the reality of the situation.”
The DUP says the Windsor Framework is a step in the right direction, but maintains that certain areas require change. The party is looking to Rishi Sunak to step in, and make the changes it requires before it will consider going back into power-sharing.
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What does the DUP want from the new Brexit deal?
“We’re saying the [UK] government needs to go further and to dig deeper to ensure that what we get not only works for here and now but is futureproof,” Sir Jeffrey added.
The build-up to St Patrick’s Day has seen the traditional exodus of Ireland’s political leaders to the US.
Ahead of his meeting with Joe Biden on Friday, the Irish prime minister told Sky News that this is “a very sensitive moment in this process”.
Asked if any changes can possibly be made to the new post-Brexit deal, Mr Varadkar said: “It’s not for me to speak for other people. What’s happened is that we have an agreement at long last between the UK and the European Commission that has been endorsed by the Irish government, also the UK government.
“Ultimately it’s going to be a decision for the UK prime minister when they press ahead and what they decide to do with their own domestic legislation.”
The Irish leader declined to say what his message to Sir Jeffrey was, asserting his conversations would remain private.
Asked if it was a mistake by the British government to brand the agreement as the Windsor Framework, and involve King Charles in an overt attempt to woo unionists, Mr Varadkar said that Dublin had no objections at the time.
The Taoiseach said that “we were asked whether we were comfortable about the term Windsor Framework being used and we said that we were”.
“What’s mattered to us all along is the substance,” Mr Varadkar added.
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He also spoke of his hopes for a good working relationship with Mr Sunak, who he has yet to meet in person.
“I do think he means business,” Mr Varadkar said of the UK prime minster. “There’s a real opportunity to restore British-Irish relations to where they were before Brexit. They were really good before Brexit.”
Mr Varadkar told Sky News his conversations with Sir Jeffrey would remain private
It’s expected the US president will give further details of next month’s visit to the island of Ireland during Friday’s bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach.
Mr Biden is also expected to reiterate his administration’s support for the Windsor Framework, and encourage all parties in Northern Ireland to endorse it.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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