Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said he will not meet as an MLA in Stormont until the Northern Ireland Protocol is resolved.
The DUP leader had previously told the media that he was committed to leading the DUP in the political institutions in Stormont, but questions remain as to whether he will remain as an MP or take on the mandate to be the MLA for Lagan Valley.
Speaking at the House of Commons on Tuesday night, Mr Donaldson confirmed that he would remain in Westminster until the protocol was considered.
“I am ready to dedicate the rest of my political career to returning to these institutions and working with my colleagues,” he said.
“I am ready to leave this house, of which I have been a member for 25 years. I want to work for our people.
“I will not leave this house until this problem is resolved with the protocol. I will not leave this house until I am sure that our political institutions in Northern Ireland have a solid foundation. “
In response to his remarks, Alliance MP Stephen Farry tweeted: “The least surprising announcement this year. It was well telegraphed. However, a cynical move only a week after he ran for parliament. “
Ulster MLA Unionist Steve Icon added, “God, what a surprise.”
His comments came after Sinn Féin’s Michel O’Neill previously accused Boris Johnson of “pretending” to be a DUP and “gaining rhetoric” after meeting with the prime minister.
Ms O’Neill commented to the media on Tuesday afternoon after a meeting with the prime minister, which was also attended by Mr Donaldson.
Ms O’Neill, who is eligible to become Northern Ireland’s first nationalist prime minister since Thursday’s election, suggested the government was in “collusion” with the DUP and said the unionist party should enter the executive branch to “Prioritize the health service.”
She also called on Mr Johnson to “stop playing chicken”.
“Everyone has given priority to health, but the DUP is not in the executive branch today. “I encourage them to do that, and I want to work with everyone else,” she said.
Earlier, during a conversation with Taoiseach Michael Martin and Mr Johnson, Downing Street described the situation over the Northern Ireland Protocol as “already very serious”.
A Downing Street account of the conversation between Mr Johnson and Mr Martin said the two had agreed on the vital importance of rebuilding the relocated institutions in Northern Ireland as soon as possible.
The DUP said Monday it would not nominate a deputy prime minister unless concerns about the NI Protocol are resolved.
Sharing power requires the largest unionist and nationalist parties to share the posts of prime minister and deputy prime minister.
The EU is working tirelessly to offer creative and lasting solutions.
With political will and a genuine commitment, joint solutions to legitimate practical issues raised by people and businesses in Northern Ireland can be found in the Protocol.
👉 pic.twitter.com/rQuhuZ2qR4
– Марош Шефчович🇪🇺 (@MarosSefcovic) May 10, 2022
After the Queen’s speech, Mr Donaldson called on the UK Government to “act quickly” and said that “either the protocol or the sharing of power based on consensus between communities, the Prime Minister cannot support both”.
Ms O’Neill added: “When I spoke to Boris Johnson this morning, I made it very clear that they should stop playing chicken.
“They use the people here in the north as a game of power in their game with the European Union. Honesty must be brought back into the conversation.
“The protocol is here to stay. Are their ways to smooth out its application? To have.
“This CEO in Stormont has to sit every day. The British government’s approach to the DUP’s nonsense will not be washed away.
In a tweet on Tuesday night, European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič wrote on Twitter that the EU was “working tirelessly to propose creative and lasting solutions” to the protocol.
“With political will and genuine commitment, joint solutions to legitimate practical issues raised by the people and businesses of Northern Ireland can be found under the Protocol,” he added.
In response, former Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith – who was negotiating a return to power-sharing in Stormont in January 2020 – added: “I hope the EU and the UK will work hard to ensure that political unionism will be considered while acknowledging the support of NI’s business and much of NI’s on many aspects of the current arrangements. “
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