NORTHERN IRELAND DEPUTY First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she has “no plans” to meet with Boris Johnson during his visit to NI after he declined a political meeting with Sinn Féin.
O’Neill refused to welcome the British Prime Minister to Belfast today in her Stormont role after a request for a meeting with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and herself was not accepted.
After he declined the political meeting, which was requested amid growing tensions over post-Brexit restrictions, O’Neill refused to meet him at all.
O’Neill is the deputy leader of Sinn Féin.
However, Johnson was to hold a meeting with First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster during a visit tied to the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
He also joined Health Minister Robin Swann and Foster at a vaccine centre in Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen, which is in her Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency.
Foster urged Johnson to “stand up for Northern Ireland” and ditch the “intolerable” protocol governing Irish Sea trade post-Brexit, which has angered unionists who say it undermines the nation’s place in the UK.
In a statement, Michelle O’Neill said: “Mary Lou McDonald and myself have a long-standing request to meet with the British Prime Minister to discuss a number of commitments which he and his Government have reneged on in the New Decade New Approach over this past year, and also his reckless and partisan approach to the Irish Protocol. He did not facilitate the meeting.
“I have no plans to meet with him today.”
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the party was refusing to engage with the “day out for unionism” after No 10 refused the request for a “professional, grown-up engagement” to cover topics including the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Finucane, who represents North Belfast, said: “We’re not in the business of engaging in a fairly superficial PR stunt, which is what the British Prime Minister invited us to do today.
“We have made the request to meet with him. I think it’s insulting to the 770,000 people on this island who vote for us that he feels it appropriate to ignore and refuse that meeting.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Michelle O’Neill was invited to join the PM on the visit.”
The NI Protocol was agreed by the EU and UK during the withdrawal negotiations to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.
It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods, with regulatory checks and inspections now required on agri-food produce moving into the region from the rest of the UK.
The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration.
Elsewhere today, Mary Lou McDonald was asked about the money spent by RTÉ on the Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey.
It was reported by the Sunday World this week that RTÉ likely spent around €10,000 to air the interview last Monday night.
Asked about this price today, McDonald told reporters that she would “prefer taxpayers’ money” to be spent on Irish-produced work.
She said she didn’t watch the interview, but that she is a “longstanding fan of Meghan”.
“I’m not on anybody’s team, but I liked her in Suits. I thought she was good,” she said.
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