First and Deputy First Minister at odds on Border Poll
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE, Belfast Telegraph, February 2nd, 2026
LITTLE-PENGELLY REJECTS IDEA WHILE O'NEILL TALKS UP A VOTE BY 2030
Momentum for an Irish unity referendum “doesn't exist” in Northern Ireland, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has said.
However, First Minister Michelle O'Neill has reiterated Sinn Fein's call for a border poll by 2030, saying she could envisage a vote happening while she is in post.
The DUP's Ms Little-Pengelly and Ms O'Neill were asked about Irish unity during separate interviews on the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News.
Ms Little-Pengelly said she believed the “best future” for Northern Ireland, as well as Scotland and Wales, was within the UK.
She said: “When we look across the globe at a time of instability, of a lot of concern and apprehension, a strong and United Kingdom, working together, fighting together, defending together, I think, is what serves all of our citizens better.
“I think it's important to say that in Northern Ireland, nationalism and republicanism haven't increased their vote from 1998, despite demographic change.
“They're sitting in and around the same percentage that they had in 1998.
“I think those who want to see the break-up of the Union do try to constantly get this momentum.
“I have no doubt that you will hear that again, because to serve their purpose is to try to get that sense of momentum towards that. That doesn't exist in Northern Ireland.”
Border Poll
Ms O'Neill said she “absolutely” could imagine a border poll while she is First Minister.
“My party's view is that we should have this by 2030, that's only a short way away. So now is the time for the planning, the preparation. I don't want done to the people here what was done in relation to Brexit.
“Brexit was a massive act of economic self-harm, it was done against the wishes of the people here.
“We have an ability to take control of our own fortunes. I encourage all political leaders to reach for that together.
“Let's find accommodation for each other. Let's build a new Ireland where those of us that have an Irish identity, a British identity, and those people have made here their home.
“We can make this a much better place for all of us, an inclusive place. That's the prize I'm reaching for.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has previously said he is not planning for a border poll by 2030.
Under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, a referendum would be held if the UK Secretary of State believes it is likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification.
‘Preferential treatment’ for veterans
During the interview, Ms O'Neill also claimed the UK Government is giving “preferential treatment for British state forces” in its approach to dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
The First Minister said there needed to be “fairness across the board” in legislation going through Westminster.
Ms Little-Pengelly said the DUP was challenging the Government to “stand up for and protect” veterans who were sent to serve in Northern Ireland.
Last year, the UK and Irish Governments announced a new framework to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
Labour is currently progressing its Troubles Bill at Westminster, which will replace the controversial Legacy Act introduced by the previous government.
Recently, MPs backed a remedial order which removed the measures in the previous Act providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes, as well as scrapping a bar on future legacy compensation cases.
The immunity provision had been found to be unlawful in the courts.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also indicated that new protections for military veterans will be added to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
Ms O'Neill told Sky News that there was much work to do to “try to heal the wounds of the past”.
She said: “All families want access to truth and justice. But what we're seeing play out in Westminster is preferential treatment for British state forces, and avenues being closed down for families who want access to truth and justice or access to the courts.
“So the British Government saying to them, you're not good enough to get information while elevating and trying to give preferential treatment for British veterans.”
Legacy still the ‘outstanding issue’
Ms Little-Pengelly said legacy continued to be an “outstanding issue” in Northern Ireland.
She said: “We should always remember that 90% of the atrocities of the murders carried out were carried out by terrorist organisations.
“I do think that there has been an attempt to rewrite history by having a lot of the focus in relation to the state, should that be police, or should that be the Army and others in Northern Ireland.
“The DUP has always been very clear that we oppose amnesty, but what we are also challenging the UK Government to do is to make sure that it does stand up for and protect those people that they sent to Northern Ireland in very difficult circumstances.”
Mount Vernon UVF were ragtag bunch of criminals, not idealists fighting to save Ulster
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, February 2nd, 2026
After years behind bars, Mark Haddock is back in the headlines. Last week the loyalist informer was released from prison having served 12 years for stabbing a former friend. Haddock is a name associated with the murderous Mount Vernon UVF unit he once commanded.
It was 2011 when I last came face to face with him.
At that time he was one of 13 loyalists charged with the murder of rival loyalist Tommy English during a feud.
The men were charged on evidence provided by two brothers, Robert and Ian Stewart.
The pair were members of the UVF but fled under threat from their former associates before becoming State witnesses. In old money, the term was supergrass.
Supergrass trials were used in the 1980s to put many people, both loyalist and republican, behind bars.
The trials took place in the old Crumlin Road courthouse, a majestic building now lying in ruins in what should be considered an act of architectural vandalism. But that is a column for another day.
The courthouse was connected to Crumlin Road prison by an underground tunnel that runs under the busy road. It took thousands of men between court and the jail during the 150 years it was in operation.
In the early 1980s the idea behind using supergrasses — or what the then RUC chief constable Sir John Hermon called 'converted terrorists' — was to get as many people behind bars as possible.
Collapse of Supergrass system
The idea worked initially, with over 500 people imprisoned on the testimony from assisting offenders, but it failed when the appeal court overturned almost all of the convictions.
And so the practice was deemed a failure and only spoken about in legal terms as a cautionary tale.
Then with the introduction of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA), there was an attempt to revive a controversial tactic.
The use of SOCPA to achieve convictions had been moderately successful in England, albeit they were not dealing with paramilitary cases.
And then, in 2010, the Public Prosecution Service attempted to prosecute 14 members of the UVF.
Charges against one of the accused were thrown out at an early stage, leaving 13 to stand trial based on evidence provided by the Stewart brothers.
They provided evidence against former associates on the 2000 murder of UDA man English, in return for reduced sentences and a new life in witness protection.
In the dock were 12 of the defendants. But outside, sitting in the body of the court and guarded at all times by armed protection officers, was Haddock, the one-time UVF commander and the RUC informer known as 'Agent Ruby'.
By now he was under threat from the UVF, who had tried to kill him a few years earlier.
The rest of the defendants would at times laugh and joke among themselves. At no stage did Haddock even look in their direction.
£20 million bill
The trial was presided over by Mr Justice Gillen without a jury and lasted weeks, costing an estimated £20m — every defendant had their own expensive legal team.
To those who covered the trial, it seemed obvious from day one that the judge was not going to convict on the evidence of the Stewart brothers, who were awful witnesses.
Among the worst I've ever heard in over two decades as a reporter, they were self-serving, constantly caught lying and were themselves responsible for committing some fairly despicable crimes.
That trial stayed with me for numerous reasons, including because it was the first time journalists were allowed to live report and Tweet.
Younger reporters may find this hard to believe, but previously, to even look at a phone screen in court would have risked having the judge order your removal.
I also remember the case because it gave an insight into how the Mount Vernon UVF were operating.
This wasn't some idealistic group fighting to save Ulster, but a ragtag bunch of thieves, drug addicts and sectarian killers, who giggled when details of their activities were laid before the court.
Child molestor
But what was more shocking was that during that September 2011 trial, Robert Stewart admitted to sexual offences involving children as young as 13.
When questioned about this by the defence, Stewart looked to the dock, pointed at his former associates and said, 'sure we were all doing it'.
The term 'grooming gang' hadn't even been invented yet, but that is what they were.
Haddock rarely reacted. At times he looked like he was going to doze off, given how bored he seemed with the proceedings.
The use of the Stewart brothers as witnesses failed, Haddock was flown back to England where he continued to involve himself in violent crime.
Now released, he is still only in his 50s and an unlikely candidate for an honest life.
I imagine the 12 years he spent in a high security prison will have only helped introduce him to new like-minded criminals.
The Police Ombudsman once linked him directly to 10 murders and said he was potentially involved in five others. There is no justice, no peace and no new start for those families.
I just wonder how long it will be before Haddock is back before a judge and back in the headlines once more.
‘I want UUP to become biggest unionist party’
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
THE new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Jon Burrows has said he is aiming to grow the party until it becomes the “biggest in unionism again”.
Speaking for the first time since becoming leader, Mr Burrows said he expected to deliver “more seats in councils, more seats in the Assembly and more seats in Westminster”.
A former senior police officer, Mr Burrows was ratified as the party leader at a meeting in Belfast on Saturday.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong has become the party’s deputy leader.
All of the party’s MLAs and its only MP, Robin Swann, attended the meeting at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast.
During the meeting, Mr Burrows set out his intention to turn the party into a “winning machine”.
Mr Burrows has been a member of the party for less than a year and was co-opted into his Assembly seat in north Antrim last summer.
He has become UUP leader without a contest after no other party members stood against him when Mike Nesbitt announced he was to stand down.
The Ulster Unionists had been the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland until it was usurped by the DUP in 2003.
But speaking to the media alongside Ms Armstrong, Mr Burrows said the party would now return to the “front foot”.
He said: “Politics has stalled in this place, Stormont is not delivering and keeping up with the advances that have been made elsewhere in Northern Ireland in our vibrant economy and we need to look at why that is.”
He added: “This is a new chapter for the Ulster Unionist Party, we are going to confidently go out engage our communities, provide the leadership that unionism needs, be sure-footed, not make the strategic big mistakes and deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
“Lead change in what needs to be done at Stormont and project Northern Ireland and its part in the United Kingdom to the global stage.”
Means Business
Mr Burrows added: “We are here to do business, to get things done, to find solutions and that is what you are going to have as we start preparing to lead unionism in Northern Ireland again.”
Mr Burrows pointed to the success of Reform UK which had “come from nowhere” to lead in the opinion polls.
He said: “That is an example of where you can go from a base to something very lofty.
“I have confidence because this party has a reservoir of trust and a deep legacy of service to the people of Northern Ireland.
“We now need to make that match for the next 10 years, next 20 and 30 years to start giving the people of Northern Ireland the politics and the public service and the solutions they need.”
The new leader pledged to build on the nine seats the UUP currently has at Stormont.
He said: “I think the first thing is to get new momentum. We want to start seeing that swing back to the Ulster Unionist Party again.
“Just in the last number of months, and they are only polls, but we were fifth and we are now third, from 11% to 13%.
“I want to keep building that and keep focused on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland, offering the best policies and I believe, in time, if we do that and communicate well, the votes will go up.
More seats
“I expect more seats, I have pledged that we will move forward and I want to see us with more seats in councils, more seats in the Assembly and more seats in Westminster.
“We are aiming to grow and grow continually until we are the biggest party in unionism again.”
Mr Burrows had earlier arrived at the Stormont Hotel accompanied by Ms Armstrong and said he was looking forward to the day.
Mr Nesbitt, who announced he was standing down as leader earlier this year, said he believed this was a “line in the sand moment” for the party.
He said: “We can now switch into an outward-looking election mode and go fishing for votes.”
Mr Nesbitt said he was not aware of reports that Mr Burrows does not have the support of his whole team of Stormont MLAs.
He said: “I have seen nothing but a cohesive team.
“There is no tension, there is no dissension that I have spotted.”
Former party leader Steve Aiken said Mr Burrows and Ms Armstrong would make a “great leadership” team.
He said: “This is a very bright day for the Ulster Unionist Party.”
Armstrong to lead on attracting more women
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
NEW Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) deputy leader Diana Armstrong is to take forward an initiative to grow the number of women in the party.
Ms Armstrong, who was ratified in the deputy leadership role on Saturday, is currently the party’s only female MLA.
Talking about her new position, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said: “I am doing this for women who came before, women who came before me who played their part in unionism.
“But there are many women without a seat in Stormont, without a seat in local government, and I want those women to step forward and be part of this next chapter in the Ulster Unionist Party.
“There is a policy that will be put in place to bring more female membership and the qualities that women bring to decision-making in governance, and I welcome that work that will be ongoing.”
New leader Jon Burrows said Ms Armstrong would lead a group which would be having conversations with women about how they can be better-supported in politics.
Newly-ratified Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader Diana Armstrong said she wanted to see more women in the party
He said: “A very practical example, we have councillors that will tell us that moving into being an MLA is too challenging, the reason being they have got childcare arrangements, they are working mums or working dads, where they have got caring responsibilities.
“We need to look at those practical things and say ‘how can we make Stormont work better for people who have working families, what are the issues?’
“That is why we are going to engage with the grassroots, engage with the community and put that voice into our policy.
“We are taking this as a strategic objective that we are going to increase the number of females and the number of young people in our party. We are offering something different.”
Mr Burrows pointed out the fact that he and Ms Armstrong were both relatively new MLAs showed there was “opportunity” in the party.
He said: “We are open to fresh talent and fresh thinking and fresh ways of doing business.”
Ms Armstrong added: “I have a lot of contact with the female members within the associations of our party and there is a real appetite that they are recognised within the party.
“I want to send a signal that we are listening, we value what women can bring to the party inherently.”
Has Nesbitt got the political courage to finish the job?
DEIRDRE HEENAN, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
THE new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Jon Burrows, caused some consternation when he initially refused to publicly confirm that Mike Nesbitt would be remaining as health minister.
This despite the fact that the incumbent had made it clear it was his “personal preference” to remain in post.
Days later, when Burrows unveiled his senior leadership team at Parliament Buildings, the position of the health minister was clarified.
He confirmed that Mr Nesbitt will keep the party’s only portfolio “right until the end of this electoral mandate” and will “do more to transform the health service”.
It seemed highly improbable that Burrows would remove him. Appointing a third Ulster Unionist health minister in two years would have been a strategic blunder, an act of hubris causing internal and external ructions.
He is hardly spoiled for choice for replacements. Indeed, it seems likely that the only other candidate in the frame was Burrows himself.
This confusion raises the question of who would want to be the health minister?
When Stormont was in abeyance, politicians from the DUP and Sinn Féin never missed an opportunity to pontificate about the importance of getting to grips with our failing healthcare system.
Yet when push came to shove, they dodged this portfolio, agreeing instead for the smallest party in the Executive to take the reins.
The role of the health minister has been described as the toughest job in government, yet conversely its prominence and challenges make it the most intoxicating.
One might think that any halfway ambitious politician would relish the chance to assume the role.
However, there is widespread wariness of the job, which is associated with constant bombardment, unrelenting demands to do what others say, fierce criticism from opposition and interest groups, and repeated declarations of a crisis.
It is a tricky balancing act of making a tangible difference to the health of the nation, while trying to balance your budget and simultaneously your political standing.
The hazards of this job were memorably captured in the response of the pugnacious Labour politician John Reid when appointed health sectary in 2003 by Tony Blair. “Oh f***,” he’s supposed to have said, “not health”.
Given the trials and tribulations of the post, should Mike Nesbitt be congratulated for wanting to continue in the role? He could have opted for an easier life.
In a recent poll, he emerged as the most popular minister in the Executive. This could be taken as a vote of confidence in his leadership, or a reflection of the fact that he has not taken any difficult decisions in terms of hospital reconfiguration or addressing systemic problems in health and social care.
Numerous reviews and consultations have been used to swerve difficult decisions.
A quirk of our democratic system is the lack of specific qualifications for the ministerial job.
To date none of our health ministers have come from medical backgrounds and usually find themselves deferring to clinical expertise.
However, a politician’s skill should be in the art of communication, setting out clearly what they want to do and why. Often it is not what you are planning to do but how it is communicated.
This is an inflection point for Mike Nesbitt as health minister.
Divesting himself of the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party presents an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved to date and set out clearly his objectives for the rest of his tenure.
As he has acknowledged, this is a defining and watershed year for health and social care. Few doubt his recognition that transformation is long overdue, but how will this translate into action?
The debacle around proposed changes to general emergency surgery in the Western Trust demonstrates the importance of building the trust of local communities and communicating decisions in an honest and transparent way.
How you design and conduct the process of change is fundamental to achieving successful outcomes.
What is his vision and where is the road map for change? Listening to local communities and building support is essential to bringing the public with him. Otherwise, good policy becomes dreadful politics.
Given the complexity of the portfolio, he cannot hope to “fix” the system. It is, however, possible to clarify what he wants to do, identify his priorities.
The focus on reducing long waits for elective care is welcome. At a glance the numbers seem impressive, but much of what has been tackled is low-hanging fruit.
Settling GPs dispute central to reform plans
The minister has committed to implementing a neighbourhood-centred system of care designed to deliver services closer to communities, improve accessibility and reduce hospital reliance.
This model will only be possible if GPs are front and centre of the work and will not happen without first resolving the current dispute with the beleaguered medics.
Additionally, the north has the worst cancer waiting times in the UK, with performance declining for more than 16 years.
These long waits risk real harm: patients can become sicker, lose access to the full range of treatment options, and in the most serious cases may die unnecessarily.
Cancer Research have called for a crisis response and stabilisation plan focused on reducing long waits and eliminating avoidable risks to patient safety.
While longer-term reform remains essential, a targeted turnaround approach is needed now to address the immediate pressures on cancer services and ensure that future investment delivers meaningful improvement.
Health and social care is perennially described as underfunded, despite the fact that spending has ris-en exponentially. The conversation must pivot from a lack of monies and budgetary constraints to what can and will be achieved with the resources available.
If we continue as we always have, we will get what we’ve always got.
There is a way forward, but it will take political courage and a determination to put the public interest first.
Mitchell's name is dropped from scholarship after latest files release
DEIRDRE BARRY, Belfast Telegraph, February 2nd, 2026
FORMER NI PEACE ENVOY DENIES ANY WRONGDOING OVER THE ALLEGATIONS
The board of directors of the US-Ireland Alliance has agreed that its George J Mitchell Scholarship program should no longer bear the former Senator's name.
The decision was made following the release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
The scholarship was named in honour of Mr Mitchell, who chaired the peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.
Queen's University in Belfast also named the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice after him.
There is renewed focus on Epstein, who died in 2019, and associates mentioned in emails and other documents which include former Prince Andrew and global business and political leaders.
The US-Ireland Alliance scholarship sends future American leaders to Northern Ireland and the Republic for a year of graduate study.
Founder and president of the US-Ireland Alliance, Trina Vargo yesterday said that the board are “extremely proud of the programme”.
She said the new information regarding the namesake of the scholarship, “in no way diminishes” the achievements of the scholars, or their commitment to retaining the connection between the US and Ireland.
“This decision allows us to focus on our mission to strengthen the ties between the US and the island of Ireland. Given the current state of the relationship, that is more important than ever,” added Ms Vargo.
She noted that, in the short term, the Alliance will refer to the Scholars as the US-Ireland Alliance Scholars.
The US Justice Department on Friday published millions of new files related to Epstein.
In a reflection of the elite circles Epstein inhabited, the documents included mentions of many prominent figures in politics, business and entertainment, including US President Donald Trump himself, who was friends with Epstein years before his crimes came to light. Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
Todd Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, said Friday's batch of documents marked the end of the Trump administration's planned releases under a law calling for all Epstein-related files to be made public.
The new cache includes more than three million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, he said.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Mr Mitchell served as US Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1995 and was later appointed special envoy for Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton, who has also been linked to Epstein.
Plaudits for NI Peace Agreement
He won plaudits from across the political divide for helping to negotiate the Good Friday Agreement.
But in court documents released in 2019, Mr Mitchell was accused of having sex with one of Epstein's victims, now deceased Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre claimed she was forced to perform sexual acts with Mr Mitchell while under Epstein's control.
Mr Mitchell denied the allegations.
He said: “The allegation contained in the released documents is false.
“I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms Giuffre. In my contacts with Mr Epstein I never observed or suspected any inappropriate conduct with underage girls.
“I only learned of his actions when they were reported in the media related to his prosecution in Florida. We have had no further contact.”
Last year it was reported that Mr Mitchell once described his friendship with Epstein as a 'blessing', according to a handwritten letter in what has been described as Epstein's 'birthday book'.
He, and others named in the massive release of 'Epstein files' in recent days, have always denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement to BBC News Northern Ireland, Mr Mitchell said the letter was written in 2003.
It added: “The senator stands by his prior statements regarding Epstein.
“During the time he knew Epstein, he had no knowledge of Epstein's actions involving underage girls.
“He first learned of those actions through published reports of Epstein's prosecution in Florida. He never had any contact with Mr Epstein again.”
I have no recollection of Epstein payments, insists Mandelson
DAVID LYNCH, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
LORD Peter Mandelson has said he does not remember receiving payments from paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein which totalled $75,000 and were made when he was a Labour MP.
The peer, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein, appears to feature in several bank statements released on Friday in the huge tranche of files related to the disgraced financier by the US government.
In one bank statement, a payment of $25,000 to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Lord Mandelson’s husband, features on May 14, 2003.
The statement appears to describe “Peter Mandelson” as the beneficiary of the payment, as the allocation “BEN” appears next to his name.
Two later statements from May and June 2004 also feature 25,000 dollar payments to Lord Mandelson, one to an account which appears in his name, and another in which he appears to be listed as a beneficiary. At the time, he was serving as Labour MP for Hartlepool.
Lord Mandelson told the BBC he had no recollection of receiving the payments, and did not know if the documents were genuine.
Other disclosures from the latest Epstein files show a man who appears to be Lord Mandelson in a series of undated photographs, stood in his pants and a T-shirt alongside a woman whose face has been hidden.
The peer told the BBC he “cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.
Elsewhere, the files appeared to show Mr da Silva was transferred thousands of pounds by Epstein to pay for a fee so he could attend the British School of Osteopathy.
Lord Mandelson has previously offered an unequivocal apology to Epstein’s victims.
He has also insisted he had “nothing more to add” on his links to Epstein.
Being pictured or mentioned in the Epstein files is not an indicator of any wrongdoing.
The peer was sacked as the ambassador to Washington DC last year after revelations of his continued contact with Epstein following the financier’s guilty plea in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed was asked by Sky News yesterday if Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage because of his association with Epstein.
He replied: “I think before taking any action like that, we need to understand exactly what’s happened.
“You’re asking me here about something that happened nearly 20 years ago. I don’t know the full detail of it, I wasn’t in government 20 years ago.
“I don’t know whether he declared it or not, and he should have done – the declaration rules had been brought in by then – so I think it would be for Peter Mandelson to explain whether or not that money was properly declared, and if not, then he will need to account for that.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor under pressure
Meanwhile, the UK government is heaping pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to reveal all he knows about Epstein so the disgraced paedophile financier’s victims are given all they “deserve and need”.
Pictures which appear to show Andrew crouched over an unidentified woman are featured in the latest disclosure of files linked to Epstein.
The images, which were splashed across the front pages of Sunday newspapers, are among more than three million documents published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
The King’s brother has previously vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
British PM Sir Keir Starmer has said the former duke “should be prepared” to testify before the US Congress about his links to Epstein, after he featured in the disclosures.
Files show that wealth provides protection for predatory men
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, February 2nd, 2026
COMMENT
Friday is traditionally the time government departments dump bad news, in the hope that by the time the news cycle starts on Monday morning most of it will have been forgotten.
Such is the global interest and jaw dropping details contained in the three million new files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, that there is no good time to publish bad news.
The US Department of Justice has released the largest number of documents shared by the government since the passing of a law that mandated their release last year.
Three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos were posted publicly, with journalists, investigators and online sleuths slowly making their way through them.
The files contain details about Epstein's time in prison where he was reported to have taken his own life.
They also include records on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and 'fixer' who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for the millionaire and his long list of rich and powerful friends.
The pictures released are disturbing, many showing clearly underage girls, thin, dressed in childish clothing, in various poses.
So confident was Epstein that he was untouchable, thanks to his powerful connections, that he documented his crimes as they were happening.
Among Friday's haul of information were pictures of the former prince Andrew, on all fours hovering over a young woman.
Emails also exist of the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, speaking about women Epstein has set up for him.
There are also emails from his equally loathsome ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who has been a longstanding enabler of her former husband's behaviour, and it would seem from the communications with Epstein, obsessed with money and the pursuit of it.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 in Florida for soliciting sex from a 14 year old girl after coming to a controversial plea agreement with prosecutors.
That date is important, because after that anyone still communicating with him no longer can hide behind a cloak of ignorance — they knew exactly what kind of man they were dealing with.
One email from Ferguson dated 4 April 2009, was signed, 'Love, Sarah, The red Head.!!'.
Another shows Mountbatten-Windsor discussing having dinner at Buckingham Palace, where he assures the convicted paedophile there will be “lots of privacy”.
The disgraced royal has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Former politician and current peer, Lord Peter Mandelson was also in frequent contact with Epstein after his conviction, with an embarrassing picture of him in his underwear among the recently released images.
He has now said he regrets his past friendship with Epstein. Lots of people seemingly regret being his friend, but were quite happy to avail of his services when he was alive, in the full knowledge of what type of man he was.
Confidential legal emails between Epstein and one of Northern Ireland's most prominent lawyers, Paul Tweed, have raised eyebrows locally, although there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the libel lawyer's part.
Tweed admits giving ‘limited advice’ to Epstein
Tweed acted for Jeffrey Epstein in 2011, at a time when the billionaire was trying to rebuild his reputation after his child abuse conviction.
Mr Tweed has responded by saying he provided “limited advice to Epstein in 2011” and that while he never met him had exchanged emails and phone calls with him.
Mr Tweed has said that his “engagement was terminated after several months due to a variety of factors, including that my advices were not acceptable to Epstein”.
While those were purely business dealings Mr Tweed had, that cannot be said about many others who knew Epstein.
The latest drop of information highlights a number of things. Firstly that grooming gangs come in all forms.
We may be aware of Asian grooming gangs in England, and the organised crime gangs in Northern Ireland that recruit and exploit their young victims, but Epstein shows that the rich and powerful can equally be involved in abuse, in his case trafficking young women and girls to remote islands.
The circumstances may be different, but what doesn't change is the demographic of the victims, vulnerable, often with little family support, children from the care system, young women the authorities are unlikely to believe over the influential men who exploit them.
In Epstein's case the victims have been further abused, online and on social media by those loyal to his powerful friends.
Epstein's story is part of a bigger picture that shows how much society still needs to change in order to protect children from predatory men.
Unfortunately status and power is still providing immunity for those only too willing to party with Epstein while young lives were being ruined for the sick pleasure of others.
Six in 10 patients waiting for beds at Altnagelvin ED
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
NEARLY six in 10 patients at one of Northern Ireland’s busiest emergency departments were left waiting and unable to be admitted because of a lack of beds, Department of Health figures show.
Data released by the Department of Health shows that 58% of ED patients at Altnagelvin Hospital’s Emergency Department were waiting for admission to a ward across the sixweek period between late November and early January, highlighting a bed-blocking crisis in the north’s health system.
On individual days, the situation was even more acute – Altnagelvin’s bed-blocking rate exceeded 60% on 13 separate occasions, peaking at 68% on December 18th when 44 of the 65 ED patients were simply waiting for a bed.
At Altnagelvin, this bed shortage meant that on some days, up to 70 patients at noon were medically ready for admission but had nowhere to go.
At the Causeway Hospital, almost half (47%) of ED patients over the period were waiting for beds, while at Antrim Area Hospital the figure stood at 45%.
Meanwhile, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, more than one in four ED patients (27%) were stuck waiting for admission rather than receiving emergency treatment.
The figures, recorded at 12pm each day over the six-week period, show that on December 1 alone, 1,014 patients were waiting across all nine Emergency Departments in Northern Ireland – with 333 of them simply waiting for a bed to become available.
“Emergency departments have become holding bays for a health service that has run out of beds”
Across the period, 8,401 of the 22,494 patient waits recorded were people waiting for admission rather than emergency care, representing more than one in three (37%) of all emergency department waits.
The data reveals stark differences between the north’s hospitals.
While Altnagelvin recorded the highest proportion of patients waiting for beds at 58% over the six weeks, the Royal Victoria Hospital managed to keep the figure at 27% despite handling higher patient volumes.
The Ulster Hospital saw 29% of its ED patients waiting for admission, while the Mater Hospital recorded 32%.
Backlog due to bed shortage
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath said: “These figures expose the reality facing patients across Northern Ireland every single day. Every day when hospitals should be clearing pressure and preparing for the daily surge, hundreds of people are already waiting in emergency departments, with many stuck simply waiting for a bed.
“This is not about inappropriate attendances or people turning up at the wrong place. These are patients who need to be admitted but cannot move because there is no capacity in the system. Emergency departments have become holding bays for a health service that has run out of beds.
“Week after week, hospital after hospital, we see the same pattern repeated. Delayed discharges, under-resourced social care and workforce shortages are creating a logjam that blocks the entire system, leaving patients on Emergency Department trolleys and in corridors for hours or even days.
“The Health Minister continues to point to short-term initiatives and demand management, but this data shows that approach isn’t working. Until the Executive properly invests in hospital capacity, workforce retention and social care, these scenes will remain the norm rather than the exception.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Services face pressure throughout the year, but they are more severe in winter. This is a complex problem with no quick fix but the only medium to long term solution is to reduce demand and manage demand differently.
“That means reducing the number of people coming through ED doors as well as getting people out of hospital as soon as they are fit for discharge to free up beds.
“Our Reset Plan is attempting, over the next three years, to refocus our work towards earlier support and intervention, prevention, providing neighbourhood-based care and encouraging people to take more responsibility for their own health on a routine basis.
“We recognise however that this will take time to have an impact and it is not helped by the very challenging financial position.”
‘I can make a difference in people's lives... and that is a real privilege'
NIAMH CAMPBELL, Belfast Telegraph, February 2nd, 2026
ALLIANCE MLA KATE NICHOLL ON MOTHERHOOD AND POLITICAL REFORM
Kate Nicholl was recently described as “the political equivalent of Little Miss Sunshine” — and it's a nickname she's happy to take, especially, as she says, “the world is so dark right now”.
The South Belfast Alliance MLA was given this new moniker by politics lecturer David McCann and believes it's because, contrary to what the public may believe about their elected representatives up on the hill, there's “literally no one” in Stormont that she doesn't get along with.
“I actually would struggle to find someone that I didn't like,” she told this newspaper on a wet and windy Friday afternoon in her Carryduff constituency office.
“I think we all engage on a human level. On the economy committee for example, and this is probably going to tank his political career, but I get on really well with the DUP's Jonny Buckley.
“He just had baby Eden and I have a baby too, so I love to see photos of her. When I had Dara, Sinéad McLaughlin (of the SDLP) texted me regularly to ask how I was doing.”
Dara, who was born last April, is Kate's third child with her husband, Fergal Sherry.
Kate then became the first Assembly member to take “proper maternity leave”, as new rules were brought in that same month.
They allow MLAs on parental leave to have say on Assembly business without being present at Stormont, by enabling them to ask another MLA to vote by proxy on their behalf.
However, Kate, who was born in Zimbabwe, recently revealed that she was considering giving up her political career in the months that followed the birth of her son.
In 2019, when she had her first son, Cian, she was a Belfast city councillor, and was back attending meetings part-time within weeks of giving birth.
She and Fergal then welcomed their daughter, Étaín, in 2022.
“That was two weeks after the Assembly election. I had just been elected and I went back to work immediately,” Kate explained.
“Actually, a colleague just had a baby who's almost three weeks old. I went to see her yesterday, and that was the age I went back to work. I felt quite sad holding this tiny baby, thinking, 'God, I brought Étaín to all these meetings'.
“So when I had Dara nine months ago, I was the first MLA to have proper maternity leave where I took five or six months off.
“I really struggled with coming back because I didn't know how I could justify outsourcing the care of my kids to someone else, when we weren't making the difference that we should be in the Assembly.
“It's one thing where you think, you'll put your five-month-old in full-time daycare, but you're trying to make a better society for him, so it's worth it.
Pace of change ‘so slow’ in Assembly
“But I didn't feel like we were making things better. It's so negative in the Assembly. The pace of change is so slow, and I had to really weigh it up.
“Ultimately, this place, this constituency office and the people who we help in the constituency office and the amazing team of people I work with, are why I came back.”
However, she admitted she “just had to adjust my expectations”.
“I know that I can make a difference in individuals' lives, and that's an amazing privilege.
“With the systemic change that's required, I can't do that right now, but it's why reform and changing the structures is so important, because at the moment, things don't work the way they should.
“The only way we're going to be able to deliver change on childcare and make things cheaper and easier for people, and for the next generation to have opportunities, is if we function properly. And there are serious structural issues that need to be addressed.”
That drive to improve society is often what draws people into politics, but having nearly walked away from the system herself, disillusioned by how government is working, what does Kate make of the public's cynicism?
“I think we're starting to see the ramifications of having regular collapse now with health and our inability to fix so much of what's going on in departments.
“I think the negativity is just seen as creating a really toxic environment, so people just switch off.
“Why would they want to engage in that?
“Because it's 'us and them' — green versus orange — in so much of it too, it's not motivating.
“I think people are motivated by fear or they're motivated by hope.
“As a political class, we haven't been doing enough to show people what the future could look like, and that we're prioritising it and creating that hope.”
She believes greater accountability from those in power would encourage more people, especially young people, to be engaged and get more involved in politics.
A recent LucidTalk poll showed that support for Alliance has fallen, with the public rating its leader, Naomi Long, as the worst or most unpopular Executive member.
Alliance Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir came joint eighth with the DUP's Education Minister Paul Givan.
“There are always going to be challenges being the junior partner in a coalition,” Kate said.
“We're a party that campaigns on change and making things better, and so much of that hasn't been achieved because of these structural problems.
“I think that probably accounts for a lot of what you're seeing in the polls.
“That's why we have to keep talking about how we reform things and make it better. And I think it's unfair as Naomi and Andrew are so dedicated, and they work so hard. They do things by the rule book.
“They've got integrity, and they're hardworking, I think it's just a hard position. But as we always say, the polls don't always reflect what actually happens on election day, and we're definitely not swayed by them.”
She believes that her party leader's core support base remains solid, and that the negative views captured in the poll are coming largely from outside Alliance's voter base. Kate added that she believes there has been a “concerted campaign to attack” Mrs Long, and that with an election next year, some may view Alliance votes as “easy to take,” and therefore target her party and its leader.
Kate also founded the All-Party Group on AI, and says that while the technology has “enormous potential”, she is pushing for an amendment to existing legislation to stop the download or use of AI apps that generate non-consensual sexual mages.
“We also need to understand that the darkness that exists on the internet is not the result of tech companies. They amplify it, but it's the darkness that exists in humanity,” she added.
“Legislation alone isn't going to change it. How we deal with it as a society will, and it's just bringing all those voices together.”
The darker side of social media is something that Kate is familiar with. Recently, she and party colleague, Nuala McAllister, have been taking the negative comments they received almost daily into short social media videos.
In one clip, they can be seen taking turns telling each other the insults they both have received, including “You're a devious Catholic” and another which just read “Vaccines!”
Laughing about it, Kate said: “Someone sent me a T-shirt that says 'Vaccines!' after that.
“It's just nuts. You don't talk to another human being like that in person, so Nuala and I decided that we'd do this video to highlight how ridiculous it is, and to show it doesn't affect us.
“I think you just have to be a bit more creative.
“It doesn't do any harm to show that we're all human, and there's a human side to politics as well.”
PSNI considering the use of AI facial recognition technology
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
THE PSNI has established a panel to examine the “operational feasibility” of introducing live facial recognition technology in Northern Ireland, as police forces in England and Wales prepare a major expansion of the AI-powered surveillance tactic.
The force has set up a Facial Recognition Governance Board which is monitoring programmes elsewhere in the UK and engaging directly with industry providers, though it insists no decision has been taken over whether to deploy the controversial technology.
In a statement to The Irish News, the PSNI said that the police force “does not currently use Live Facial Recognition technology and has no existing capability, contracts or funding in place to deploy it.”
The statement went on to say that the PSNI considers Live Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence as “distinct matters”.
“The PSNI has an internal Facial Recognition Governance Board which is monitoring national LFR programmes, including those implemented by the Metropolitan Police, South Wales Police and, most recently, British Transport Police,” it said.
“At this stage, we are engaging with these programmes and their industry providers solely in order to assess operational feasibility.”
Facial recognition technology ‘concerning’
The PSNI statement added that “work is at an early exploratory and consultation stage” and that no final decision has yet been taken over whether in implement the technology here.
West Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll described the news as “hugely concerning”.
Speaking to The Irish News, he warned that live facial recognition “erodes privacy in public spaces, curtails people’s freedom to protest and destroys any notion of the presumption of innocence”.
The People Before Profit representative said: “Deploying this technology would be a fundamental and unacceptable breach of civil liberties, from a service that has very recently shown itself to be incapable of adequately safeguarding personal data.”
The West Belfast MLA’s reference to data safeguarding follows the PSNI’s massive data breach in August 2023, when details of 10,000 officers and staff were accidentally published online.
Mr Carroll highlighted concerns that facial recognition technology “has been found to be discriminatory towards communities of colour” and has been “roundly criticised by countless human rights organisations and privacy experts”.
He called on the PSNI and Justice Minister to “immediately stop any attempt to replicate Labour’s disastrous policymaking in the north”.
The development comes as the UK government announced plans to expand live facial recognition vans from 10 to 50 across England and Wales, alongside a £115 million investment in a national AI centre for policing.
The technology, already used by forces including the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, is designed to catch criminals on police watchlists by scanning faces in public spaces.
A police officer views a camera feed from inside a Live Facial Recognition (LFR) van during a demonstration of facial recognition technology.
Global events will determine if I visit Washington: O’Neill
Irish News, February 2nd, 2026
Michelle O’Neill has yet to decide whether to accept President Donald Trump’s invitation to the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington DC
FIRST Minister Michelle O’Neill has said she will take “international factors” into account when deciding whether to visit Washington DC for St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Ms O’Neill did not attend the event last year in protest against the US role in Israel’s war in Gaza, and she said the situation has since “got even worse”.
The First Minister told Sky News she has not booked any flights to visit the White House.
She added: “I decided last year that I wouldn’t go in the context of the genocide that we see unfolding in Gaza.
“I believe that situation has deteriorated even further.
“International events, they are changing day by day, hour by hour, so that will be the factors that I take into account whenever the decision is made.
“I’ll say more about that in the coming weeks, but I’m very clear that the international community have failed.”
‘Serious questions’ ” for PSNI if it retains NCHIs says free speech campaigner
Adam Kula, Belfast News Letter, February 2nd, 2026
Toby Young, director of the UK-wide pressure group the Free Speech Union, was commenting after the PSNI told the News Letter that it is not bound by the directions of the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood.
Ms Mahmood has said she wants to see NCHIs done away with.
NCHIs are occurrences which offend somebody, and are logged and often investigated by police, but are legal.
Chief constable Jon Boutcher and deputy Bobby Singleton. The PSNI plans to ignore the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood by continuing to record non-crime hate incidents, in which behaviour that is legal but which offends somebody is logged by police
For example a NCHI could be a tweet or an overheard comment.
They are something “which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic,” according to the PSNI’s official definition (with those characteristics including race, sexuality, and transgender status).
The definition goes on to add: “Evidence is not the test when reporting a hate incident; when an incident or crime has been reported to police by the victim or by any other person and they perceive it as being motivated by prejudice or hate, it will be recorded and investigated as a hate incident or crime.
"The perception of the victim, or any other person is the defining factor in determining whether an incident is a hate incident, or in recognising the hostility element of a hate crime.”
Even though no law has been broken, if someone accuses you of an NCHI then the police can log it on your record.
It can then be disclosed to prospective employers in an enhanced background check.
9,000 NCHIs in last decade
The News Letter revealed last month that there had been over 9,000 such NCHIs recorded by the PSNI in the last decade (alongside 18,789 hate crimes).
Mrs Mahmood gave an interview to The Daily Telegraph last week.
When asked if NCHIs would be scrapped, the paper quoted her as saying: “I expect to see them changed, absolutely.
"The question is, what do you do instead?
“And the current position is not acceptable, so that will not stand.
"There will be a new legal framework.
"The current framework is not working and it does need to change.”
It also quoted her as saying: “I don’t want them to be policing perfectly legal tweets.
"I want to make sure that they’re focused on the day job.”
The Met had announced in October that it will no longer investigate NCHIs (though it would continue to record them).
When the PSNI was asked about whether it intends to change its approach to NCHIs in light of the Home Secretary’s comments, it told the News Letter: “At this time there is no plan to change the current recording procedures followed by the PSNI where both crimes and incidents are recorded...
"Policing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
"The PSNI is operationally independent and not subject to direction by the Home Secretary in relation to PSNI policy.
"Where changes are made to non-hate crime incident recording or related guidance is introduced in England and Wales the PSNI would consider any relevant learning or guidance in the context of policing in Northern Ireland.
"Any such consideration would involve consultation with stakeholders, including the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Department of Justice."
Lord Young said: “If the PSNI doesn’t do away with its non-crime hate incident regime, given that England and Wales are about to scrap NCHIs, I think it will have some serious questions to answer.
"The people of Northern Ireland will ask, as they have done on the mainland: ‘Why are the police devoting so much manpower to investigating and recording non-crimes, when there are so many crimes they could be investigating?’
"If the PSNI doesn’t have an answer, heads will roll – and rightly so.”
UDR soldier remembered ahead of 40th anniversary service
By Johnny McNabb, Belfast News Letter, February 1st, 2026,
An Act of Remembrance is set to take place this Tuesday to remember the life of a 22-year-old man who was murdered 40 years ago by the IRA.
Ulster Defence Regiment CGC soldier John Early was killed in a Provisional IRA landmine attack on the Garrison–Belcoo Road on February 3, 1986.
He died after sustaining fatal head injuries caused by masonry that was dislodged when a landmine exploded beside an eight-man foot patrol. The device had been concealed within a dry-stone wall and was detonated by radio remote control at approximately 1pm, as Mr Early was leading the patrol.
He was one of only a small number of Roman Catholic soldiers serving within the UDR CGC in the Lisnaskea area at that time.
An Act of Remembrance will take place on the 40th anniversary of the death of John Early.
To mark the 40th anniversary of his death, former colleagues from ‘E Company’ of the 4th Battalion UDR will hold an Act of Remembrance at the site of the attack on Tuesday (February 3) at 12 noon.
This will be followed by a further Act of Remembrance at John’s grave in the graveyard of Holy Cross Church, Lisnaskea, known locally as the Chapel on the Hill, at 2.30pm later that afternoon.
Among those attending will be John Faulkner, a former colleague of Mr Early, who has travelled from Australia to Fermanagh to pay his respects and ensure that John’s legacy continues to be remembered.
Reflecting on the milestone anniversary, Mr Faulkner spoke of the lasting impact his close friend had on his life.
"John has had a very powerful influence upon my life, and despite 40 years passing he remains regularly in my thoughts,” he said.
“I first knew John through my involvement in the TA and when he was initially in the UDR part-time and we would've met at training camps and other places.
"We got on very well, he was someone I instantly connected with. In the late summer of 1985 I decided that I too would join the UDR but I didn't drive a car and getting about wasn't always simple.
"It was John that came out and picked me up to go to St Angelo to meet with the Commanding Officer, and he then brought me home later that evening.”
Mr Faulkner recalled John’s determination and commitment to his role as a soldier and how their final encounter remains vividly etched in his memory.
He explained: "John was a determined young man when he wanted something, I could see that he was going to make it onto the full-time because he had really taken his fitness serious, had lost weight and was very sharp and focused.
"Saturday 1st February 1986 was the last time that I saw John, we were out having a few pints and as he left, we said our farewells - not our goodbyes because we expected to see each other again soon. I always remember his black leather jacket it was his signature item of clothing."
Mr Faulkner also recalled the moment he learned of John’s death and how the loss had a profound effect on his own future plans.
"On the day it happened (Monday 3rd February 1986) I was working as a civil servant in the crown buildings whilst waiting acceptance for the UDR,” he continued.
Belcoo
"Around lunchtime word came through that a UDR soldier had been killed in Belcoo, and I don't know why but I instinctively knew that this was in fact John. But in an age where there was little-no access to immediate communication, it was that evening before I had the news confirmed to me, by my father.
"The impact of John's murder meant that I was unclear whether or not to push on with joining the Regiment, it wasn't from a sense of fear but through this horrible feeling of it not going to be the same without him.
"I kept in touch with John's mummy, Phyllis, and visited her on a number of occasions when I returned from Australia but then she too passed and the Early family connection was all but gone from the area.
"John may be gone but he will never be forgotten, those of us who knew him best will continue to honour his memory and keep his spirit alive.
"It is important that I came back for this milestone anniversary, it's important to come together with all of the lads, we were all doing our best in such horrible and challenging circumstances.”
Meanwhile, Lisnaskea-based SEFF are also supporting the initiative and its Director Kenny Donaldson, stated: "When people speak of courage, strength and commitment, John Early's name should be attached alongside those other members of the Roman Catholic community who stepped forward and served within the security forces.
"In what I have learnt over the years concerning John Early, I've heard of few other personalities who appear to have been so well-liked and respected as he was, and it is fitting that his former colleagues are coming together to remember their colleague and friend.”
UUP better placed to criticise Irish Sea border than DUP
By Owen Polley, Belfast News Letter, February 2nd, 2026
The DUP’s ‘Safeguarding the Union’ deal with Rishi Sunak’s government was two years old on Saturday.
That feels an awfully long time ago, given all that has happened since.
Infamously, the DUP said that the agreement successfully removed the Irish Sea border, ended checks on goods and stopped an automatic pipeline of EU law to Northern Ireland. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the party’s leader at the time, used it to justify restoring power-sharing at Stormont.
There is little point going over again all the ways in which the DUP’s claims were either false or exaggerated. Its current leader, Gavin Robinson, more or less admitted this, when he said the deal had been oversold.
In August, I wrote a 3,000-word feature for the News Letter, detailing the ways in which the sea border was getting harder, rather than fading away (‘Claims that the Irish Sea border was removed were so misleading as to be nonsense - the frontier not only still exists, it is hardening,’ August 2). It might have been a handy guide then, but already there are countless things to add to it.
For example, the veterinary medicines border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which was long feared, is now in place.
The EU’s ceaseless bureaucratic machine recently implemented new computer systems and paperwork for companies sending goods to its territory, which, in effect, includes this province.
Car dealers are no longer permitted to sell new cars in Northern Ireland that are approved for the mainstream British market. There are reportedly similar difficulties with some white goods, like washing machines and spin dryers.
There is an imminent threat of a €3 duty on all products that arrive here in parcels from GB, when new EU rules come into force later this year.
The government does not seem to understand this problem, or have any plan to solve it, judging by deputy prime minister David Lammy’s incoherent response to a recent Westminster question from Jim Allister.
Just last week, Royal Mail announced that it will not offer return labels for items bought from eBay sellers in Northern Ireland. These products were sold by businesses in NI and are returning here, but Brussels claims they need more documentation.
Pointless failure
Having said all this, the DUP’s decision to restore Stormont two years ago was not necessarily ridiculous or wrong. The longer its boycott of power-sharing went on without easing the Irish Sea border, the more it looked like a pointless failure.
The UUP leader at the time, Doug Beattie, argued that the tactic could undermine support for the Union.
This point brings us to the new Ulster Unionist supremo, Jon Burrows, whose leadership was ratified at an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday.
The UUP, it is not often acknowledged, has an advantage over the DUP when it criticises the NI Protocol and Windsor Framework. It did not have anything like its rival’s influence over the government when those arrangements were negotiated, nor was its support for power-sharing ever based on the fiction that the sea border had been removed.
The DUP is in a more difficult position.
It cannot ignore the sea border, if it is to credibly argue that it is defending the Union. But if it points out how seriously we are affected by the framework, it risks reminding voters that it misled them in the past.
The TUV has so far been the main beneficiary of this dilemma.
Power sharing
Its position is simple. The DUP should not have restored power-sharing, because that requires unionist ministers to implement the sea border.
The UUP has been less successful in exploiting the DUP’s weakness. Its message on the framework was confusing. The party opposed the sea border, but at times it portrayed it as a problem of secondary importance, or even a potential advantage. It seemed to accept the anti-unionist claim that a strong message on the framework was not compatible with ‘constructive’ politics.
That is why it was heartening to see Mr Burrows straightforwardly rubbish claims, from the Alliance MLA David Honeyford, that Northern Ireland benefits from ‘dual market access’.
This is a phrase that is often repeated, but it means very little. We have full access to the EU market but barriers stop us trading freely with our more important market in the rest of the UK.
An MLA as trigger-happy as Honeyford is a gift to Mr Burrows.
This is the politician who claimed that unionists were ‘bred’ to hate Catholics.
His assertions about the benefits of access and all-Ireland trade were similarly based on no evidence. The Alliance Party did not even respond when the News Letter asked it to back up his argument.
Still, the new UUP leader made hard points about the sea border’s effects that his party has not always made in the past. He did it by stressing that many of our businesses are flourishing despite the Windsor Framework, rather than talking Northern Ireland down or hinting that our economy is a disaster.
It is early days, but this hints at a possible improvement in tone from the Ulster Unionists.
The arguments over whether the DUP was right or wrong to return to Stormont have no definitive answer. However, the party at best misled the public about its deal. And, whether it is fair or not, some of its decisions implicated it in the sea border’s creation.
It is surprising, from their own electoral standpoint, that the Ulster Unionists have not yet capitalised on this more. Maybe Jon Burrows will be the leader to seize that opportunity.
