Michelle O’Neill says there is no threat to Northern Ireland power sharing after Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation

Published

1 year ago

March 31, 2024

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There is no threat to Northern Ireland’s power-sharing agreement after the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) resigned over allegations of historical sexual offences, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stepped down on Friday. It is understood he will be “strenuously contesting” all charges against him.

Sinn Fein vice president Ms O’Neill told Sky News she has approached the leaders of the three other parties in the ministerial executive in Belfast to ensure “cohesion” amid the political fallout.

The deal that restored power sharing earlier this year hinged on the backing of Donaldson.

“I think everybody was shocked,” Ms O’Neill said of Friday’s developments.

“[It’s] a very challenging time, not least for those people that have come forward to the police.”

She added: “I’ve spoken to the new interim leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson. I’ve also spoken to my executive colleagues, the political leaders around the executive table, just in terms of the work that we have to do, that we need to prioritise cohesion and leadership through these times.”

No threat to power sharing

Ms O’Neill said all the party leaders shared the view there is no threat to the power-sharing institutions.

“The public here rightly deserve our newly formed executive to continue to deliver for them for now and into the future,” she said.

“My priority is to make that power sharing work, my priority is to work with the other political leaders around the executive table.

“That was why I thought it was important yesterday to reach out to each of the political leaders to talk about the need for cohesion, to talk about the need for leadership and to talk about the delivery that we now need to get on with in terms of the executive itself.”

A political earthquake without warning presents a threat to power sharing

David Blevins

Senior Ireland correspondent

@skydavidblevins

“Cohesion and leadership” – the priorities outlined by Northern Ireland’s first minister in her bid to avert a full-blown political crisis.

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill told Sky News she was “shocked” by the circumstances of Unionist leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation. Shocked is an understatement. Northern Ireland is reeling from a political earthquake without warning and struggling to assess the damage. There is a criminal investigation under way – politicians are choosing their words carefully to ensure they do not compromise it.

But they must, at the same time, attempt to deal with the political fall-out, to steady the ship in unchartered waters. The Democratic Unionist Party has not only lost its leader in inauspicious circumstances but erased him from its online presence. At least three of the Party’s eight Westminster seats were already deemed marginal, and at risk in the upcoming general election. If Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as an MP, it could find itself fighting a by-election in Lagan Valley very quickly.

And those landmines pose a very real threat to the power-sharing government, just eight weeks after it came into existence. Senior DUP figures, who opposed Donaldson’s decision to compromise and restore devolution, could seek to take control of the party. Hardline Unionists outside the party have urged them to do so and terminate power sharing again over controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements.

But does the DUP want to risk a Stormont election and face a general election with the party in chaos? I don’t think so, but one party’s dysfunction can quickly become every party’s problem, if it is not managed carefully.

There wasn’t a whiff of political point-scoring when Michelle O’Neill urged other party leaders to protect power sharing – to be cohesive. But she and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will need every ounce of their leadership to avoid a political shipwreck.

The first minister added she intended to “provide leadership” and to make sure the power-sharing government got results on the “day-to-day matters that people want us to be prioritising”.

“The public rightly expect their political leaders to deliver for them. That’s where I’m going to be focused,” she said.

‘Victims must have opportunity for justice’

It came after Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she was “shocked and devastated” by the news of the charges against Donaldson.

She added: “Victims must always have the best opportunity for justice. This must be fully respected and supported.

“My thoughts are with those suffering who have put their faith in the criminal justice system.

“Protecting the integrity of that process necessitates significant restrictions on what can be said. I have faith in our justice system.”

Ms Little-Pengelly went on to say that she was “determined” to work with the interim party leader Mr Robinson to “provide stability” and continue “tackling the big issues faced by Northern Ireland”.

Donaldson due in court in April

Donaldson has led the DUP since 2021 and has been the MP for Lagan Valley since 1997.

The 61-year-old will appear in court in Newry, Co Down, on 24 April.

A 57-year-old woman has been charged with aiding and abetting offences in relation to the same police investigation.

He has been suspended by the party but it is understood he remains an MP.

Politics

‘Will the PM side with parents or tech bros?’: Labour peer demands action on children’s smartphone safety

Published

1 hour ago

April 4, 2025

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'Will the PM side with parents or tech bros?': Labour peer demands action on children's smartphone safety

Sir Keir Starmer needs to choose between parents who want stronger action to tackle harmful content on children’s phones, or the “tech bros” who are resisting changes to their platforms, Baroness Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking to Beth Rigby on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer noted that the prime minister met with the creators of hit Netflix drama Adolescence to discuss safety on social media, but she questioned if he is going to take action to “stop the tech companies allowing this sort of stuff” on their platforms where children can access it.

Sir Keir hosted a roundtable on Monday with Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne and producer Jo Johnson to discuss issues raised in the series, which centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl, and the rise of incel culture.

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The aim was to discuss how to prevent young boys being dragged into a “whirlpool of hatred and misogyny”, and the prime minister said the four-part series raises questions about how to keep young people safe from technology.

Sir Keir has backed calls for the four-part drama to be shown in all schools across the country, but Baroness Harman questioned what is going to be achieved by having young people simply watch the show.

“Two questions were raised [for me],” she said. ” Firstly – after they’ve watched it, what is going to be the discussion afterwards?

“And secondly, is he going to act to stop the tech companies allowing this sort of stuff to go online into smartphones without protection of children?

“Because if the tech companies wanted to do this, they could actually protect children. They can do everything they want with their tech.”

She acknowledged there are “very big public policy challenges” in this area, but added of the prime minister: “Is he going to side with parents who are terrified and want this content off their children’s phones, or is he going to accept the tech bros’ resistance to having to make changes?”

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Can parliament keep up?

The Labour peer backed the Conservative Party’s call for a ban on smartphones in schools to be mandated from Westminster, saying it would “enable all schools not to have a discussion with their parents or to battle it out, but just to say, this is the ruling” from central government, which Ofsted would then enforce.

“I’m sensitive to the idea that we shouldn’t constantly be telling schools what to do,” she continued. “And they’ve got a lot of common sense and a lot of professional experience, and they should have as much autonomy as possible.

“But perhaps it’s easier for them if it’s done top down.”

Baroness Harman also questioned the speed with which parliament is actually able to legislate to deal with the very rapid development of new technologies, and posits that it could “change its processes to be able to legislate in real time”.

She suggested that a “powerful select committee” of MPs could be established to do that, because “otherwise we talk about it, and then we’re not able to legislate for 10 years – by which time that problem has really set in, and we’ve got a whole load more problems”.

On the podcast, the trio also discussed the 10% tariffs imposed on the UK by Donald Trump and the government’s efforts to strike a trade deal with the US to mitigate the impact of the levy.

The government has refused to rule out scrapping the Digital Services Tax, a 2% levy on tech giants’ revenues in the UK, as part of the negotiations with the Trump administration – a move Baroness Harman said would be “very heartbreaking”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Politics

Bakkt investors file class-action lawsuit after loss of Webull, BoA contracts

Published

4 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Bakkt investors file class-action lawsuit after loss of Webull, BoA contracts

A group of investors with cryptocurrency custody and trading firm Bakkt Holdings filed a class-action lawsuit alleging false or misleading statements and a failure to disclose certain information.

Lead plaintiff Guy Serge A. Franklin called for a jury trial as part of a complaint against Bakkt, senior adviser and former CEO Gavin Michael, CEO and president Andrew Main, and interim chief financial officer Karen Alexander, according to an April 2 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The group of investors allege damages as the result of violations of US securites laws and a lack of transparency surrounding its agreement with clients: Webull and Bank of America (BoA).

Law, Investments, United States, Bakkt — *April 2 complaint against Bakkt and its executives. Source: PACER*

The loss of Bank of America and Webull will result “in a 73% loss in top line revenue” due to the two firms making up a significant percentage of its services revenue, the investor group alleges in the lawsuit. The filing stated Webull made up 74% of Bakkt’s crypto services revenue through most of 2023 and 2024, and Bank of America made up 17% of its loyalty services revenue from January to September 2024.

Bakkt disclosed on March 17 that Bank of America and Webull did not intend to renew their agreements with the firm ending in 2025. The announcement likely contributed to the company’s share price falling more than 27% in the following 24 hours. The investors allege Bakkt “misrepresented the stability and/or diversity of its crypto services revenue” and failed to disclose that this revenue was “substantially dependent” on Webull’s contract.

“As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages,” said the suit.

Other law offices said they were investigating Bakkt for securities law violations, suggesting additional class-action lawsuits may be in the works. Cointelegraph contacted Bakkt for a comment on the lawsuit but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Prices affected by Trump Media reports

Bakkt’s share price surged roughly 162% in November 2024 after reports suggested that then-US President-elect Donald Trump’s media company was considering acquiring the firm. As of April 2025, neither company has officially announced a deal.

Shares in Bakkt (BKKT) were $8.15 at the time of publication, having fallen more than 36% in the previous 30 days.

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Trump tariffs squeeze already struggling Bitcoin miners — Braiins exec

Published

11 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Trump tariffs squeeze already struggling Bitcoin miners — Braiins exec

The new trade tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump may place added pressure on the Bitcoin mining ecosystem both domestically and globally, according to one industry executive.

While the US is home to Bitcoin (BTC) mining manufacturing firms such as Auradine, it’s still “not possible to make the whole supply chain, including materials, US-based,” Kristian Csepcsar, chief marketing officer at BTC mining tech provider Braiins, told Cointelegraph.

On April 2, Trump announced sweeping tariffs, imposing a 10% tariff on all countries that export to the US and introducing “reciprocal” levies targeting America’s key trading partners.

Community members have debated the potential effects of the tariffs on Bitcoin, with some saying their impact has been overstated, while others see them as a significant threat.

Tariffs compound existing mining challenges

Csepcsar said the mining industry is already experiencing tough times, pointing to key indicators like the BTC hashprice.

Hashprice — a measure of a miner’s daily revenue per unit of hash power spent to mine BTC blocks — has been on the decline since 2022 and dropped to all-time lows of $50 for the first time in 2024.

According to data from Bitbo, the BTC hashprice was still hovering around all-time low levels of $53 on March 30.

“Hashprice is the key metric miners follow to understand their bottom line. It is how many dollars one terahash makes a day. A key profitability metric, and it is at all-time lows, ever,” Csepcsar said.

He added that mining equipment tariffs were already increasing under the Biden administration in 2024, and cited comments from Summer Meng, general manager at Chinese crypto mining supplier Bitmars.

“But they keep getting stricter under Trump,” Csepcsar added, referring to companies such as the China-based Bitmain — the world’s largest ASIC manufacturer — which is subject to the new tariffs.

Trump’s latest measures include a 34% additional tariff on top of an existing 20% levy for Chinese mining imports. In response, China reportedly imposed its own retaliatory tariffs on April 4.

BTC mining firms to “lose in the short term”

Csepcsar also noted that cutting-edge chips for crypto mining are currently massively produced in countries like Taiwan and South Korea, which were hit by new 32% and 25% tariffs, respectively.

“It will take a decade for the US to catch up with cutting-edge chip manufacturing. So again, companies, including American ones, lose in the short term,” he said.

Csepcsar also observed that some countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States region, including Russia and Kazakhstan, have been beefing up mining efforts and could potentially overtake the US in hashrate dominance.

“If we continue to see trade war, these regions with low tariffs and more favorable mining conditions can see a major boom,” Csepcsar warned.

As the newly announced tariffs potentially hurt Bitcoin mining both globally and in the US, it may become more difficult for Trump to keep his promise of making the US the global mining leader.

Trump’s stance on crypto has shifted multiple times over the years. As his administration embraces a more pro-crypto agenda, it remains to be seen how the latest economic policies will impact his long-term strategy for digital assets.

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