Category Archives: Northern Ireland

Government defeated in Lords over meaningful vote on future trade deals – Politics live

Posted on by

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs

- The government are defeated on Labour’s amendment 13 in the House of Lords. The amendment makes it an “objective” of the government during negotiations to pursue a free trade deal allowing the UK to stay “in a customs union” with the EU after Brexit.

- The government was defeated on amendment 12 which called for parliamentary approval of future trade agreements.

Prince Charles has saluted the ”unparalleled bonds” between Britain and Ireland at a time of strained Anglo-Irish relations caused by Brexit.

The Prince of Wales was attending a special St Patrick’s Day dinner at the Irish embassy in London where British and Irish politicians mingled amid continuing uncertainty and recriminations over the Irish border issue in the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Continue reading...

Clintons accused of nepotism in book on US-Ireland relations

Posted on by

Exclusive: Policy adviser claims couple tried to gain grant for Chelsea’s boyfriend

A veteran Democratic foreign policy adviser has accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of nepotism, dishonesty and vindictiveness in an assault on a previously untouched part of the Clinton political legacy – Ireland.

Trina Vargo, who was a behind-the-scenes Washington player in Northern Ireland’s peace process, claims the couple tried to obtain a scholarship to Ireland for a boyfriend of their daughter, Chelsea, and later cut funding for the scholarship to punish Vargo for backing Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race.

Continue reading...

Barnier ‘working on legal add-on’ to Brexit deal to help May

Posted on by

EU negotiator frustrated at UK demands over Irish backstop but is considering adjunct to deal

Michel Barnier has told EU ambassadors that he is having to repeatedly rebut British demands for a time limit on the Irish backstop but that he is working on a legal add-on to the Brexit deal to help the prime minister.

During a meeting on Friday in Brussels, the EU’s chief negotiator expressed frustration with the British demands after the latest round of talks. “The UK side keeps on insisting on the same two things,” one EU diplomat said following Barnier’s briefing after the latest week of talks. “And we keep on explaining why it won’t happen.”

Continue reading...

Pat Finucane murder inquiry fell below human rights standards, judges rule

Posted on by

Supreme court says investigation into killing of Belfast solicitor was ineffective

The official investigation into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, one of the most notorious killings of the Troubles, was ineffective and failed to meet the required human rights standards, the supreme court has ruled.

In a unanimous judgment, five justices said the investigation carried out by Sir Desmond de Silva in 2011 was frustrated by his inability to compel witnesses to testify about the killing. The court did not, however, order a public inquiry and has left it up to the government to decide whether further investigation is needed.

Continue reading...

A special place in hell? Donald Tusk didn’t go far enough | Martin Kettle

Posted on by
Not only were the Brexiters clueless: they didn’t give a stuff about Ireland. But this will come back to haunt the Tories

Donald Tusk should be criticised not for his malice, but his moderation. The European council president triggered a tsunami of confected outrage from leavers today when he observed, with some justice, that there should be a special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit without a plan. But he should have said far more. He should have added that, within that special place, there should be an executive suite of sleepless torment for those politicians who promoted Brexit without ever giving a stuff about Ireland.

Related: Dear Theresa May, your Brexit plan is doomed. Here’s a deal that will work | Gina Miller

Continue reading...

May’s pledge on Irish border threatens to reopen Tory rift

Posted on by

Brexiters fear PM’s Belfast speech steps back from previous assurances

Theresa May fired a warning shot at Brexit supporters on Tuesday, insisting there was “no suggestion” Britain would leave the EU without an insurance provision to protect against a hard border in Northern Ireland.

At a speech in Belfast, May would only accept that technology could “play a part” in any alternative arrangements and that she would not countenance anything that would disrupt the lives of border communities.

Continue reading...

May to promise Brexit deal that Northern Ireland can support

Posted on by

Prime minister’s speech in Belfast to underscore pledge to avoid hard border

Theresa May will attempt to reassure businesses and Northern Irish politicians by insisting during a visit to Belfast that she can find a way to deliver a Brexit deal MPs can support.

The prime minister is due to chair a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning before departing for a two-day visit to Northern Ireland to underscore her commitment to avoiding a hard border with Ireland.

Continue reading...

Liam Neeson: After a friend was raped, I wanted to kill a black man

Posted on by

Actor speaks of ‘shame’ and ‘horror’ he feels over his actions many years ago

In a remarkable new interview, the actor Liam Neeson has claimed that he reacted to the rape of someone to whom he was close by loitering outside a pub for a week wanting to murder a black person.

Neeson, whose career for the past 15 years has been defined by a series of revenge thrillers, was speaking to promote the latest, Cold Pursuit, in which he plays a man avenging the murder of his son.

Continue reading...

The backstop isn’t just about trade. Is that so hard to understand, Britain? | Dearbhail McDonald

Posted on by

The Good Friday agreement allows people to identify as Irish, British or both. We’re being forced, once again, to choose sides

One of my earliest childhood memories is of a circling red light motioning cars to stop near the border, silencing all who encountered its fiery glare. That red light filled my young heart with fear. I didn’t know if the gloved hand holding the torch was that of the RUC, the British army, the IRA or the UVF.

I grew up during the Troubles in the shadow of Cloghogue, one of the largest British army bases in Northern Ireland. Having to make detours to avoid customs and security checks along “bomb alley” – an atrocity-laden eight-mile stretch of road between Newry and Dundalk – was as frightening as it was familiar.

Continue reading...

UK weather: Arctic blast to deliver weekend of two halves

Posted on by

Strong northerly winds, snow and ice forecast to affect large parts of country

A large swathe of the UK is to be hit by an Arctic blast, bringing strong winds, snow and ice in a chilly end to the month.

The Met Office issued five weather warnings for the last weekend of January, saying there was a chance of power cuts and travel disruption.

Continue reading...

Michel Barnier says opposing no-deal Brexit will not stop it in March

Posted on by

EU’s chief negotiator warns UK will crash out unless ‘positive majority’ of MPs agree on new vision

Michel Barnier has warned that the move led by Labour MP Yvette Cooper to block the prime minister from delivering a no-deal Brexit is doomed to fail unless a majority for an alternative agreement is found.

The EU’s chief negotiator, in a speech in Brussels, said the “default” for the UK was still crashing out if MPs could not coalesce around a new vision of its future outside the bloc.

Continue reading...

No-deal Brexit would mean hard Irish border, EU confirms

Posted on by

Spokesman says it is ‘pretty obvious’ border controls would be needed under no deal

Follow the latest political developments - live updates

The EU has confirmed it will enforce a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit, despite the risk it would pose to peace.

In comments that will be highly uncomfortable for Dublin, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief spokesman told reporters it was “pretty obvious” that border infrastructure would be necessary if the UK were to leave without deal.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Tory whip Gareth Johnson resigns because he can’t support May’s deal – Politics live

Posted on by

PM speech comes after letter from Tusk and Juncker says EU will consider technological alternatives to backstop

In an article for the Guardian, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, says that historical precedent dictates that, if Theresa May loses the Brexit vote tomorrow, she should call a general election.

Here is an extract.

In this week in 1910, the British electorate went to the polls. They did so because Herbert Asquith’s Liberal government had been unable to get Lloyd George’s famous People’s Budget through the House of Lords. Liberal posters defined the election as a choice between the peers and the people. They finally got their way after a second election that December.

So twice that year, and a number of other times, governments who could not get their flagship legislation through parliament, or who otherwise found their authority in the House of Commons exhausted, have been obliged to go to the country to seek a new mandate.

Related: If Labour supports a public vote we’ll take no lectures from Tories about democracy | Emily Thornberry

Conservative MPs have been told that Theresa May will address the party’s backbench 1922 committee at 7pm, after her statement to the Commons. And Jeremy Corbyn will be addressing the parliamentary Labour party meeting tonight too.

Continue reading...

Police reinforcements for Northern Ireland in case of no-deal Brexit

Posted on by

Almost 1,000 officers from rest of UK to start training to deal with trouble arising from hard border

Almost 1,000 police officers from England and Scotland are to begin training for deployment in Northern Ireland in case of disorder from a no-deal Brexit, the Guardian has learned.

The plans were put in place after Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chiefs asked for reinforcements to deal with any trouble that arises from a hard border. The training for officers from English forces and Police Scotland is expected to begin this month.

Continue reading...