Peter Robinson to attend Stormont talks despite heart attack

First Minister Peter Robinson is to attend Stormont talks hosted by Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers and Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan on Tuesday, notwithstanding suffering a heart attack a week ago. He blamed his illness on his lifestyle.

DUP leader Mr Robinson, (66) who was rushed to hospital last Monday, attended the Irish Open in Newcastle, Co Down, on Saturday, just a day after he was discharged from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Mr Robinson told reporters he would “take it easy for the next couple of weeks” but that he would attend Tuesday’s talks involving the five main Northern party leaders to test if there is any way to breaking the current political stalemate.

Northern politics is deadlocked at the moment. The DUP, the Ulster Unionists and Alliance contend that Sinn Féin, by refusing to sign up to welfare reform, is threatening the future of the Northern Executive and Assembly.

DUP Minister of Finance Arlene Foster said last week that the impasse had created an unsustainable £600 million deficit in the Executive's budget for the rest of this financial year.

Sinn Féin in turn has called for a “united front” to resist British government “austerity” measures. It insisted it would not accept welfare change despite initially endorsing the Stormont House agreement at Christmas. An element of the agreement was agreeing to a moderated form of welfare change.

Mr Robinson said he would attend the meeting on Tuesday because he wanted to “concentrate on crisis” issues. He added, however, that he would not renegotiate the Stormont House agreement.

Mr Robinson said he was “feeling fine” after having three stents inserted. He was first admitted to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald in east Belfast on Monday morning and then transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in west Belfast.

He put his illness down his diet and his lack of exercise.

“I blame myself and nobody else but myself,” he added. “The last emails that I was sending were at about four minutes to four in the morning and my men were timed to come at 7.30 to pick me up on that Monday morning, even though it was a bank holiday,” he said.

Mr Robinson added: “If you looked at my diet you would cringe. It’s all around snacking and fast foods and all the things that you shouldn’t do. Exercise? You’re picked up from the door and dropped at the door, so it’s all the worst lifestyle things.”

The First Minister paid tribute to the medical staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

“It’s been a difficult time obviously, but it really is tremendous what they’re capable of doing now,” he said. “I really am thankful, right from the ambulance staff who had to work on [me] probably for about an hour before I was taken to Dundonald hospital,” he added.

“They tried to stabilise me and send me on to the Royal Victoria. I was given three stents that helped the flow of blood around the heart and had a further procedure on Thursday.”

On Rory McIlroy not making it to the final two days of the Irish Open, Mr Robinson said: “I think Rory had a worse week than I had; but, like me, he’ll bounce back again.”