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| Tories will not rock the boat once DUP deal is struck, predicts Trimble | Tories will not rock the boat once DUP deal is struck, predicts Trimble |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Conservative MPs “will not rock the boat” once an agreement is reached with the Democratic Unionists to form a new government, the former Northern Ireland first minister David Trimble has predicted. | Conservative MPs “will not rock the boat” once an agreement is reached with the Democratic Unionists to form a new government, the former Northern Ireland first minister David Trimble has predicted. |
| Trimble, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1998 for helping to secure the Good Friday agreement, also forecast that talks aimed at restoring the power-sharing Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont would not succeed until Brexit negotiations were complete. | Trimble, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1998 for helping to secure the Good Friday agreement, also forecast that talks aimed at restoring the power-sharing Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont would not succeed until Brexit negotiations were complete. |
| Trimble, a former leader of the Ulster Unionist party (UUP) and now a Tory peer, said on Monday that Sinn Féin wanted to use Brexit to gain political capital, but that the Irish republican party would fail if it was back in a Stormont government involved in UK-wide Brexit negotiations. | Trimble, a former leader of the Ulster Unionist party (UUP) and now a Tory peer, said on Monday that Sinn Féin wanted to use Brexit to gain political capital, but that the Irish republican party would fail if it was back in a Stormont government involved in UK-wide Brexit negotiations. |
| After the Good Friday agreement, Trimble was considered to be a traitor by the Democratic Unionists (DUP) for his compromise with Irish nationalists. | After the Good Friday agreement, Trimble was considered to be a traitor by the Democratic Unionists (DUP) for his compromise with Irish nationalists. |
| Trimble’s comments come as the DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, prepares to fly to London before Tuesday’s meeting with the prime minister, Theresa May, at Downing Street. | Trimble’s comments come as the DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, prepares to fly to London before Tuesday’s meeting with the prime minister, Theresa May, at Downing Street. |
| Talks between Sinn Féin, the DUP, and other parties represented at Stormont are due to restart in Belfast on Monday. | Talks between Sinn Féin, the DUP, and other parties represented at Stormont are due to restart in Belfast on Monday. |
| The Northern Ireland assembly broke down at the beginning of this year after Foster refused to step aside temporarily to make way for an independent inquiry into a bungled green energy scheme. The project was championed by the DUP but cost the taxpayer an estimated half a billion pounds. | |
| The late Martin McGuinness resigned from the Sinn Féin-DUP coalition, triggering the collapse of the regional government under the rules of power-sharing. | The late Martin McGuinness resigned from the Sinn Féin-DUP coalition, triggering the collapse of the regional government under the rules of power-sharing. |
| The deadline for the next round of talks to resurrect the assembly, which were put on hold due to the UK general election, is 29 June. | The deadline for the next round of talks to resurrect the assembly, which were put on hold due to the UK general election, is 29 June. |
| Trimble said on Monday he was confident Tory MPs would back an arrangement under which the DUP’s 10 MPs would prop up a Tory minority government, despite reports of unease among more centrist Conservatives. | Trimble said on Monday he was confident Tory MPs would back an arrangement under which the DUP’s 10 MPs would prop up a Tory minority government, despite reports of unease among more centrist Conservatives. |
| “They will have more problems over who is going to lead their party after the election than this arrangement with the DUP,” he said. | “They will have more problems over who is going to lead their party after the election than this arrangement with the DUP,” he said. |
| Conversely, Trimble said the DUP could come under pressure from its own base if it is seen as too close to the Tories. | Conversely, Trimble said the DUP could come under pressure from its own base if it is seen as too close to the Tories. |
| “One of the big set pieces coming down the line in parliament is the ‘great repeal bill’, which will be used to repeal and row back all that legislation that flowed from the EU that the Conservatives have promised to get rid of, such as European regulations on business,” he said. “There are going to be all kinds of interest groups howling and screaming about this, and the DUP could take some local flak.” | “One of the big set pieces coming down the line in parliament is the ‘great repeal bill’, which will be used to repeal and row back all that legislation that flowed from the EU that the Conservatives have promised to get rid of, such as European regulations on business,” he said. “There are going to be all kinds of interest groups howling and screaming about this, and the DUP could take some local flak.” |
| Trimble, who spent close to a decade negotiating with Sinn Féin both inside and outside devolved government, said he suspected the republican party would prefer to be outside a new power-sharing coalition with the DUP because of Brexit. | Trimble, who spent close to a decade negotiating with Sinn Féin both inside and outside devolved government, said he suspected the republican party would prefer to be outside a new power-sharing coalition with the DUP because of Brexit. |
| “They want to use Brexit to attack the British government, but how can they do that if they are in a regional government that is helping to negotiate the terms of Brexit? I could be wrong but I can’t see them going back into an executive in Belfast until Brexit is out of the way.” | “They want to use Brexit to attack the British government, but how can they do that if they are in a regional government that is helping to negotiate the terms of Brexit? I could be wrong but I can’t see them going back into an executive in Belfast until Brexit is out of the way.” |
| Foster said one of her main aims at Tuesday’s talks with May was to get “a good deal on Brexit” for Northern Ireland. Foster is opposed to a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. | Foster said one of her main aims at Tuesday’s talks with May was to get “a good deal on Brexit” for Northern Ireland. Foster is opposed to a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. |
| Writing in Monday’s Belfast Telegraph, she dismissed criticism of her party in the UK media. “Some of the national commentary and analysis about the party – and by extension its voters – has been downright inaccurate and misleading. I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme,” she said. | Writing in Monday’s Belfast Telegraph, she dismissed criticism of her party in the UK media. “Some of the national commentary and analysis about the party – and by extension its voters – has been downright inaccurate and misleading. I have no doubt over time those responsible will look foolish in the extreme,” she said. |
| The Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, is meeting the Irish foreign minister, Charlie Flanagan, in Belfast on Monday before the resumption of the all-party devolution talks. | The Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, is meeting the Irish foreign minister, Charlie Flanagan, in Belfast on Monday before the resumption of the all-party devolution talks. |
| Flanagan was pressed on whether or not Brokenshire could be an impartial co-chairman of the talks given that the DUP was about to shore up his Westminster government. | Flanagan was pressed on whether or not Brokenshire could be an impartial co-chairman of the talks given that the DUP was about to shore up his Westminster government. |
| “[That is] not necessarily the case. Of course, it remains to be seen what the nature of that deal is. But this is an issue I did address with the secretary of state,” Flanagan told ITV. | “[That is] not necessarily the case. Of course, it remains to be seen what the nature of that deal is. But this is an issue I did address with the secretary of state,” Flanagan told ITV. |
| Sinn Féin’s president, Gerry Adams, has suggested that an overseas chair be appointed to oversee the negotiations, given the nationalist party’s misgivings over Brokenshire’s impartiality. | Sinn Féin’s president, Gerry Adams, has suggested that an overseas chair be appointed to oversee the negotiations, given the nationalist party’s misgivings over Brokenshire’s impartiality. |
| In 1997 and 1998, the US senator George Mitchell successfully chaired the marathon negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement. | In 1997 and 1998, the US senator George Mitchell successfully chaired the marathon negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement. |
| • This article was amended on 12 June 2017. An earlier version referred to the green energy scheme championed by the DUP costing the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds. The estimated cost was half a billion pounds. |