Prime Minister Belfast bound

Published Thursday, 01 October 2009
Comments
Toggle font size
Print

Gordon Brown will fly to Belfast on Monday to talk with Northern Ireland's party leaders in a bid to break the deadlock over the devolution of policing and justice.

The Prime Minister is also expected to meet the new police Chief Constable Matt Baggott.

On Wednesday, the First and Deputy First Ministers had a very public fallout, after Martin McGuinness claimed in a press conference that the two leaders had been unable to develop a proper working relationship.

The DUP and Sinn Fein are clashing over the transfer deadline.

Martin McGuinness called for the Prime Minister to devolve policing and justice powers before Christmas.

But Peter Robinson said he wanted to ensure sufficient community confidence existed and the funds were put in place to guarantee local policing.

Senior members of the DUP, including Arlene Foster and MPs Nigel Dodds and Gregory Campbell, supported Mr Robinson when he insisted that the time was not right for the switchover.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward warned at the Labour Party conference in Brighton that further delays risked the loss of overseas investment.

DUP MP Nigel Dodds said: "It is frankly laughable to see the Secretary of State (Mr Woodward) behaving in this manner. He is opening himself up to public ridicule with puerile comments like this.

"Such tactics will change nothing about our approach towards the devolution of policing and justice powers."

Mr Woodward maintained that the final stage of the devolution process was the "critical last step" which would signal "enduring stability" in Northern Ireland.

American economic envoy Declan Kelly said on Thursday that stability and progress in the political institutions was key for US investment.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Northern Ireland on October 12 to meet political leaders and talk about jobs and investments.

© UTV News
Comments Comments
0 Comments
No comments. Be the first to comment.
POST A COMMENT:
Name:  
Email address*:    
Location:  
Validation:
House Rules:  
Your Comment:  
[All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Your name, location and comment will be displayed on this page if your post passes moderation.]