Northern Ireland secretary says Stormont talks have moved forward

Negotiations about restoring devolution have "moved forward substantially", the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Chris Heaton-Harris made the comments in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

He was replying to the new Shadow Secretary of State for NI Hilary Benn who asked him about his plans to get Stormont back up and running.

There has been no functioning Stormont Executive or Assembly since the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) withdrew in February 2022.

The DUP pulled out in protest over post-Brexit trading arrangement barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The party has said the Windsor Framework deal - struck by the European Union and UK Government this year to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol - does not go far enough to address its concerns.

Responding to Mr Benn's question, the Northern Ireland secretary told him: "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening."

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has previously said he was hopeful the party can get progress it needs to go back into power-sharing.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) has told a Westminster committee unionist parties' approach since Brexit has driven more people to become "unity curious".

Colum Eastwood said he was "not one bit surprised" some unionists have expressed interest in discussing a united Ireland.

He was addressing the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee as it examines Stormont power-sharing 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement

Mr Eastwood said he believes Northern Ireland is in a period of having a "very live conversation about constitutional change".

The Foyle MP said: "I think the way in which some parts of political unionism have behaved since Brexit has actually driven more and more people to be sort of unity curious, for want of a better term."

On Monday, a founding member of the DUP, Wallace Thompson, told the Belfast Telegraph "there's an inevitability in my mind that we are moving towards some form of new Ireland".

His comments were disputed by former DUP leader Peter Robinson, who said wrote online: "In terms of the union, the end is not nigh. A united Ireland is not inevitable."

Mr Eastwood told MPs he was "not one bit surprised" by Mr Thompson's remarks.

He said: "People tell me unionists aren't engaging in this conversation. It's not true, because they're talking to us."

Mr Eastwood also said the DUP leader is "running out of road" in continuing to veto the restoration of the assembly and executive.

The DUP has been seeking further legislative assurances of Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market.

Mr Eastwood said: "We still don't really know what the DUP want."

But DUP MP Carla Lockhart responded: "What we're asking for is solutions. We want solutions for our businesses that are impacted by the protocol."

She said addressing her party's concerns was "very firmly within the UK government's gift".