Rishi Sunak to meet with Northern Irish leaders at Stormont after power-sharing restored

Published

1 year ago

February 4, 2024

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Rishi Sunak is visiting Northern Ireland to celebrate the restoration of power-sharing at Stormont, where he will meet the country’s first nationalist first minister.

Over the weekend, an executive was finally re-established after almost two years without one in the region.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which had been holding up the process, allowed a first minister to be selected after a fresh agreement on post-Brexit bureaucracy was announced by the UK government.

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Mr Sunak will meet with the new first minister, Sinn Fein‘s Michelle O’Neill, as well as the deputy first minister, the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly, at Stormont on Monday.

The pair have equal responsibilities and powers, but Sinn Fein has the first minister role due to it being the single largest party in the assembly.

The Republic of Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, is also expected to be at Stormont on Monday.

Mr Sunak is visiting Northern Ireland tonight, where he will meet with public service workers.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Air Ambulance Northern Ireland in Lisburn on Sunday evening, the prime minister hailed the “significant progress” made “towards a brighter future for people here” following the restoration of power-sharing.

He also faced questions about Ms O’Neill’s comments that she expects a vote on Irish unity to take place in the next decade.

He replied: “Obviously, everyone is committed to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.

“But I think everyone also agrees that now is the time to focus on delivering on the day-to-day issues that matter to people, to families, to businesses in Northern Ireland.”

It is Mr Sunak’s seventh time in the region since he became prime minister.

There had been hopes that the Windsor Framework agreed with the EU last year would break the impasse in Belfast.

But it has taken almost a whole year for unionists to get the assurances they need to let an administration form.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, the DUP had the power to stop an executive being formed.

With the roadblocks now removed, Ms O’Neill has now become the first nationalist first minister of Northern Ireland since 1998 when the current system was introduced.

The DUP had refused to return to power-sharing over the trade border in the Irish Sea, which put checks on goods travelling to and from Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK.

The establishment of a “green lane” for goods which do not require mandatory checks was announced last year in the Windsor Framework, but it required expansion last week in order to meet the DUP’s demands.

This was done in agreement with the EU.

And the UK government also announced that EU law will no longer apply automatically to Northern Ireland.

The UK government has pledged £3.3bn to the new executive to help with the finances, as well as £600m for public sector pay.

Ministerial roles are shared between parties based on how many seats they won in the election.

The new executive is set to meet for the first time on Monday.

Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Ms O’Neill said she expected there to be a referendum on Irish unification within the next decade.

She said: “I believe we are in a decade of opportunity and there are so many things that are changing.

“All the old norms, the nature of this estate, the fact that a nationalist/republican was never supposed to be first minister.

“This all speaks to that change.”

The UK government has said it sees “no realistic prospect of a border poll”.

Politics

If Trump strikes, what will Starmer do?

Published

59 mins ago

June 19, 2025

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👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

On this episode – what advice is Sir Keir Starmer getting over Britain’s potential involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict?

There are reports the Attorney General’s legal advice to the PM is to limit what it does to protect its allies from attack – Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss the implications of that.

Plus, we hear Foreign Secretary David Lammy will get a meeting with his Iranian counterpart as part of a diplomatic push to prevent war. Foreign ministers from Germany and France will also join the talks in Geneva.

Politics

Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci join call for Starmer to ‘end UK complicity’ in Gaza

Published

59 mins ago

June 19, 2025

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Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci join call for Starmer to 'end UK complicity' in Gaza

Dame Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci are among another 100 famous names who have added their signatures to a letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza.

Sky News can exclusively reveal the Bond actress, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Conclave actor are among a host of public figures who have added their names to the letter.

At the end of May, Sky News revealed about 300 actors, bands, singers, activists and sportspeople signed the letter, organised by refugee charity Choose Love, calling on Sir Keir to suspend all UK arms sales and licences to Israel.

Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker were among the celebrities to also urge the PM to use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access and broker an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Celebrities and activists also read out all the names of children killed in Gaza in front of parliament.

But three weeks later, they say nothing has changed.

Other new signatories include actors Florence Pugh and Russell Tovey, Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, singer Paolo Nutini, author Michael Rosen, musician Paul Weller, Little Mix members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, broadcaster Fearne Cotton, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.

The letter urges Sir Keir to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza”, and says children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away”, in reference to Israel blocking aid into the territory.

It says 71,000 children under four are “acutely malnourished” and those who survive starvation “wake up to bombs falling on them”, with more than 15,000 children killed in the conflict so far.

“Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel – could be obliterating families in seconds,” the letter adds.

“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’, yet do nothing.

“Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch.

“History is written in moments of moral clarity. This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute.

“Prime minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?”

What has Starmer said and done about Gaza?

In September, the UK suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel, but government export licensing figures from May show the UK approved licences for £127.6m worth of military equipment from October to December 2024 – more than the total between 2020 and 2023.

Since the first letter was sent, Sir Keir has called Israel’s actions in Gaza – both the blockade of aid and strikes – “appalling and intolerable”.

Some of his own MPs are pressuring him to take further action against Israel and call the 20-month war – which started when Hamas killed 1,195 people in Israel and took 250 hostage – a genocide, but he has not used those words.

On 10 June, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”.

They are banned from entering the UK and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications.

Last week, Sir Keir said more RAF jets, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent to the Middle East after Israel and Iran attacked each other.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he is “worried about the impact” escalation between the two countries will have on Gaza.

Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, said: “Since we urged the government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call. We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.

“It took us 18 hours to read the 15,613 names of children known to be killed in Gaza. Every single one of them was someone’s whole universe. Every one of them deserved better.

“The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.

“History will remember how we acted in this moment. We beg Keir Starmer to end the UK’s complicity in these horrors.”

A government spokesperson said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.

“The denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”

The spokesperson added: “Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.

“We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.”

Politics

South Korea to investigate fees of local crypto exchanges

Published

1 hour ago

June 19, 2025

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South Korea to investigate fees of local crypto exchanges

South Korea’s newly elected president Lee Jae-myung reportedly promised to reduce crypto trading transaction costs as part of his presidential campaign.