Sinn Féin will not walk away from Stromont, says O’Neill

Sinn Féin “is not walking away” from Stormont despite “the challenges of being in an executive with people who are fundamentally opposed to power-sharing, to rights and equality”, the first minister has said.

Michelle O’Neill’s comments came after speculation her party could be considering it after Conor Murphy warned there was “a danger the wheels could come off” without institutional reform.

The party’s deputy leader was speaking at a hunger strike commemoration in Ballina, County Mayo on Sunday.

“Walking away would mean handing control of our public services over to British government ministers,” she continued. “That would be disastrous and Sinn Féin is not going to do that.”

O’Neill was critical of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, calling his recent comments on a border poll “divisive, arrogant, and ill-informed”.

During his first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming prime minister, Burnham ruled out calling a referendum on Irish unification, describing a border poll as “off the table”.

The Labour leader said votes on Brexit and Scottish independence showed the “risks that come from those situations take a long time to heal”.

“The right to a referendum on Irish unity is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement,” O’Neill said.

“A unity referendum is not a concession to be gifted to the people of Ireland by any English politician.”