BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown held further talks at Downing Street at the weekend with First Minister Peter Robinson and Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness amid continuing uncertainty over when policing and justice powers will be devolved to the Northern Executive.
The Sinn Féin ardchomhairle also met in Dublin on Saturday, when it discussed the delay over transferring policing powers.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward are in regular contact on the issue.
Mr Brown is expected to meet Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness again this week to try to resolve what Sinn Féin is describing as an “impasse” that could lead to political “freefall”.
While DUP leader Mr Robinson warned at the weekend that continuing Sinn Féin complaints over policing and justice could delay progress further, Sinn Féin vice-president Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Féin’s Executive Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy, warned of the danger of political collapse and accused the British government of “indulging” the “DUP’s obstructionist tactics”.
Ms McDonald said after the ardchomhairle meeting that there was a strong sense that the unionist leadership and some within the British system were seeking to push the transfer beyond next year’s Westminster election.
“Some in the DUP seek to obstruct progress because they want to return the North to a unionist one-party state. The unionist leadership and the Northern Ireland Office are allowing these rejectionist elements set the agenda. This has the real potential to push the present impasse into freefall. This is not in anyone’s interests,” she said.
At a republican commemoration in Co Louth yesterday, Mr Murphy said the DUP was being indulged by the British government. “Gordon Brown must recommit to the Good Friday agreement and the St Andrews agreement and he must not allow obstructionist tactics to further delay long-overdue progress on policing and justice. No other approach is acceptable from the British government. And no other approach is acceptable to Sinn Féin,” he said.
Last week Sinn Féin chairman Declan Kearney also accused the British government of siding with the DUP and indicated that Sinn Féin could pull out of the Executive over policing.
