THE UK’S NORTHERN Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has said that the North’s powersharing institutions should be restored after the region’s 5 May election, following the DUP’s withdrawal from the Executive over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The DUP’s withdrawal of Paul Givan as First Minister triggered the withdrawal of Michelle O’Neill as Deputy First Minister, leaving the devolved government without the authority to take certain actions.

Despite the DUP’s assertion following the resignation that all would be done to lift Covid restrictions that had been in place, reports have emerged this morning that this cannot legally be done without the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in situ.

Lewis told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme today (from 1:34:10) that it was “disappointing and wrong” that Givan had resigned and the DUP had pulled its support.

Lewis said that even Sinn Féin have admitted that there are problems with the Protocol, and that the EU and UK are working towards resolving them, but added that the DUP have said they won’t renominate a DUP member for the role until they see real progress on the Protocol issue.  

He said that this was “a mistake”, when the waiting lists in Northern Ireland were the worst in the United Kingdom. 

In response to a question on whether the DUP and the other unionist parties should publicly commit to taking the Deputy First Minister role, if the result of the Northern Ireland election in May sees Sinn Féin as the biggest party and a unionist party as the second biggest party in the North, Lewis replied “yes”.  

I would like to see all parties, both from the nationalist and the unionist side, be very clear that whatever the result in May, that they will nominate.

Powersharing arrangements in Northern Ireland see the party with the largest support after an election nominate a candidate as First Minister, and the second largest party to nominate a candidate as the Deputy First Minister. Both roles are needed for the powersharing devolved government to operate in full. 

Opinion polls have indicated that the DUP may not be the largest party in Northern Ireland for the first time since these powersharing arragements came into force under the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements. 

The DUP have suggested that they would not accept the deputy role if they became the second largest party and Sinn Féin became the largest – last week, DUP MP Sammy Wilson refused to accept hypothetically that Sinn Féin could become the largest party in Northern Ireland after 5 May elections.

When asked whether a Sinn Féin First Minister of Northern Ireland would be a threat to the union, Lewis said “no”.  

Meanwhile, the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland has  written to the British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with findings of their short inquiry into the role of the Court of Justice of the EU in relation to the Protocol.   

The Committee’s letter sets out a number of key conclusions and questions for the UK Government to respond to relating to the oversight of the EU courts, concerns around invoking Article 16 over the role of the CJEU, and questions on whether the Northern Ireland Executive can play a greater role to resolve disputes about the Protocol.

The Committee has asked the Foreign Secretary to respond to its questions by 4 March.

Liz Truss will meet with European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič in London this morning for a fresh round of discussions to resolve the deadlock over the controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed the up to the Brexit checks contained in the Protocol, which was designed as a measure to stop a hard border being erected on the island of Ireland, which could jeopardise peace.

But he is now trying to renegotiate the arrangement, or alter it dramatically, arguing that it is hampering the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland and damaging community relations.

Ahead of today’s talks, Truss said: “Fixing the Northern Ireland Protocol is an absolute priority for me.

We have a shared responsibility with the EU to work towards solutions as quickly as possible that deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

With reporting from the Press Association.