Rishi Sunak calls on Northern Ireland parties to ‘redouble’ efforts to break Stormont deadlock as US president Joe Biden flies into Belfast on 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
- Joe Biden is visiting Belfast to mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement
- The PM called on Stormont leaders to accept compromise and show leadership
Rishi Sunak has urged Northern Ireland’s political parties to redouble their efforts to break the Stormont deadlock on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
As he prepares to welcome President Joe Biden to Belfast tomorrow, the Prime Minister said the promises made in the deal must be fulfilled.
Mr Sunak called on Stormont leaders to accept compromise and show leadership, bravery and political imagination in the spirit of those who secured the peace agreement.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the deal – a diplomatic feat that created power-sharing in the province and brought 30 years of bloodshed largely to an end.
But Northern Ireland has been without a fully functioning executive since February 2022 after the Democratic Unionist Party withdrew its first minister in protest at post-Brexit trade rules.
As he prepares to welcome President Joe Biden to Belfast tomorrow, Rishi Sunak said the promises made in the deal must be fulfilled
Joe Biden will take part in a series of engagements in the city including a formal meeting with the Prime Minister
Mr Sunak urged the parties to use today’s anniversary to work together to get the executive up and running ‘as soon as possible’.
In a statement, he said that while the agreement was ‘born of partnership between the British and Irish governments’ it was based most importantly on ‘compromise in Northern Ireland itself’.
He added: ‘As we look forward, we will celebrate those who took difficult decisions, accepted compromise, and showed leadership – showing bravery, perseverance, and political imagination.
‘We commemorate those who are no longer with us and the many who lost their lives by trying to prevent violence and protect the innocent.
‘And we give thanks to them as we reflect on the new generations that have grown up and continue to grow in a world in which peace and prosperity has prevailed.’
Mr Sunak hailed the ‘solid progress we have made together’, but added: ‘We must also recommit to redoubling our efforts on the promise made in 1998 and the agreements that followed.
‘One of economic opportunity, prosperity, and stability, it is a promise we must continue to fulfil. So we must get on with the business of governance.’
Mr Sunak will greet the President off Air Force One in Belfast tomorrow evening ahead of a day of commemorations.
Mr Biden, intensely proud of his Irish heritage and the US’s role in the peace accord, will take part in a series of engagements in the city including a formal meeting with the Prime Minister.
U.S. President Biden and British PM Sunak at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego on March 13, 2023
But his visit comes amid a heightened terror threat in Northern Ireland, as well as the political stalemate.
On Thursday, Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the force had received ‘strong’ intelligence that dissidents are planning to launch terror attacks against officers in Londonderry on the bank holiday.
MI5 recently raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. This followed the gun attack on senior detective John Caldwell in County Tyrone, who has been left with life-changing injuries.
Police have blamed the New IRA for the shooting.
Easter Monday is the day dissident republicans traditionally mark the anniversary of the Easter Rising rebellion against British rule in 1916, with a parade set to take place in Londonderry.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted the political vacuum caused by his party’s refusal to re-enter Stormont is not behind the recent violence.
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