BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Gordon Brown will today publish the British Government’s proposals for devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont.
Mr Brown held over three hours of talks with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Downing Street last night - the third meeting between the sides in the last week.
Leaving Downing Street at 10.30pm Mr Robinson said that he would be discussing the proposals with Conservative Party leader David Cameron today. Mr Robinson said that he wanted to also hold discussions with other Northern parties to build as much consensus as possible.
Mr Robinson indicated that some matters still remain to be addressed including the issuing of personal protection weapons to former police officers and the DUP demand for the full-time PSNI reserve to remain in place, something which is designed to end under the Patten proposals of a decade ago.
Leaving Downing Street Mr McGuinness said: “A good nights work has been done.”
“People will see what is I think an incredible achievement against a backdrop of a very difficult financial position and see a great opportunity for us now to move.”
Asked if the publication of the document indicated that a deal has been done between all sides, he said: “I am absolutely certain that Gordon Brown, Peter Robinson and myself have reached an agreement.”
The North’s Finance Minister Sammy Wilson said the funding proposals were now better than they were at the beginning of the negotiations and he said the discussions will take place with the Chief Constable of the PSNI and director of the courts service in Northern to ensure that they have enough money to fulfil the tasks they have to carry out.
Meanwhile Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has told the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) that the British government and the largest political parties in the Republic must become “active persuaders” for a united Ireland.
“The people of Britain have a duty to themselves, to the Irish, and, indeed to the world, to speak up for the unification of Ireland,” Mr Adams told the meeting of TDs, MPs and representatives from Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
“The Border is not just an inconvenience. It is an obstacle to progress. It impacts negatively throughout the entire island. The economy of the North is too small to exist in isolation,” he said.
Some argue, he said, that unification should be “put off for the foreseeable future” because of the recession. In fact, he said, the opposite is the case, and many business people on both sides of the Border recognise this.
“Geography does not necessarily determine politics, but neither can it be ignored in assessing what is the most effective approach to meeting the challenges of economic development,” he told the BIPA meeting in Swansea.
Labour MP Paul Flynn urged Mr Adams to “find some form of words” to allow Sinn Féin’s MPs to take the oath to the queen. However, Mr Adams said: “As a republican, I am against kingdoms of any kind.
