'I command the ship, I make the decisions. I don't think it's the same across the board'.
FIRST MINISTER MICHELLE O'NEILL HINTS THAT EMMA LITTLE-PENGELLY IS CONTROLLED BY DUP PARTY OFFICERS AS SHE SITS DOWN FOR A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW WITH POLITICAL EDITOR SUZANNE BREEN
When Michelle O'Neill became First Minister, some observers predicted that she would have no real authority as other republicans would pull the strings from behind the scenes.
Fast forward 18 months and the Sinn Fein vice-president not only says that this is very much not the case, but suggests that perhaps it's her unionist partner in government whose power is greatly limited by her party.
There are regular complaints about slow decision-making at Stormont with claims that Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly must run everything by DUP party officers.
O'Neill says: “I know that I'm in control of my ship. I know I've one of the strongest ministerial teams up there. I am very confident in our work ethic.
“I'm proud of a lot of the initiatives and work that my ministerial team are doing, but I command that ship. I make the decisions. I just don't think that is the same across the board.”
So does the Deputy First Minister not enjoy such freedom?
“Emma will have to answer how she conducts her business, but Executive business is Executive business. It should be dealt with within the Executive,” says O'Neill.
Ministers should not need to seek permission from those outside the room, she adds.
The First Minister is in Áras Uí Chonghaile, the James Connolly Visitor Centre on Belfast's Falls Road. The Assembly is in recess, but it has still been a hectic week with events that have taken her from Fermanagh to Derry.
Wimbledon, however, has not been on her summer itinerary. Along with the Deputy First Minister, she was invited to the tennis championship last month.
Little-Pengelly accepted at a cost of almost £1,000 to the public purse while O'Neill declined. “I don't mind tennis, but I didn't see any value for me to go to Wimbledon,” she says.
So was it wrong for the Deputy First Minister to have the taxpayer fund her trip?
“That's for Emma to answer,” O'Neill replies. “She chose to take up the invitation so she will have to answer if she feels that was the right call or not.”
The two women have divergent political views but try to “manage that difference” and “make it work”, she says.
When asked earlier this year if they were friends, O'Neill said yes, while Little-Pengelly stressed it was a purely professional relationship. Why did they answer differently? “I can only speak for who I am,” the First Minister says.
“We have a very friendly relationship in what we do in the Executive. I'm sure Emma's conscious of her own voter base and whatever — that's her call.”
Sign Language
Sinn Fein has been accused of a lack of delivery at Stormont. There's been little progress on Casement Park despite the Government's recent £50m contribution, and Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins' plans for Irish language signs in Belfast's Grand Central Station are currently blocked.
The DUP is backing Jamie Bryson's legal challenge to Kimmins, with Communities Minister Gordon Lyons set to give evidence to the judicial review.
Lyons is the minister responsible for developing a strategy to promote the Irish language.
“What does (his legal intervention) say to the wider nationalist and republican community here? O'Neill asks.
“It says that these people want to thwart change, to hold things back, but we don't accept that. The DUP will do what they're going to do. My focus is to keep trying to drive us forward and keep trying to bring us on the right path.”
O'Neill sees it as absurd that the DUP “objected to £150,000 Irish language signs” in a £340m project.
“They're doing it because they want to hold back anything to do with Irish national identity. They don't want to see the language about the place,” she says.
The First Minister adds: “Liz will fight this case. She's not taking it lying down, she is going to fight back. I believe (the Irish signs) were the right thing to do. It was within her gift to make that decision. She stands over it, and I certainly stand over it too.”
Asked if she's confident of victory, O'Neill replies that it's impossible to predict a legal case “but we'll have to deal with that whatever way the courts land”.
The judicial review was taken by Bryson, who remains close to key DUP figures. Does the First Minister think the loyalist has too much influence in unionist politics?
“Well, I don't really take him under my notice. That's for others to answer,” she says.
The DUP is seen by some observers as trying to run down the clock on Casement's redevelopment until planning permission expires. O'Neill has previously promised that the stadium will be built on her watch. “I've said that, and I'll say it again here today. I'll work with all the Executive ministers. I want Casement over the line and I want investment in sport more generally. There is a pathway for Casement to be built, and that's the path I'm treading.”
She denies that there's growing nationalist disillusionment with Stormont and with Sinn Fein's performance in it.
She believes “the wider nationalist/republican voter base is confident about where we are and where we're headed”.
They know that some in the DUP “want to be negative on anything to do with Irish culture, the GAA, the Irish language”.
Sinn Fein is the largest party
Nationalist grassroots recognise that “despite the challenges and blockages”, Sinn Fein is trying “to keep giving people hope and keep our eyes on the future”. Securing constitutional change is “where people's heads are at”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said a border poll isn't on the horizon, and Secretary of State Hilary Benn is equally unenthusiastic. Asked how Sinn Fein plans to secure one, O'Neill says she will “keep knocking on their (Starmer's and Benn's) door” and making the case.
She adds: “They have a view today. I don't accept it. I'm not going to give up. Sinn Fein is the largest party at local government, Assembly and Westminster”. It “speaks volumes” that she's First Minister in “a state designed to ensure that never would happen”.
However, O'Neill isn't guaranteed that office again after the next Stormont election. Discussion is under way about greater unionist unity, including a DUP-UUP coalition to return more MLAs and prevent her retaking the post in 2027.
O'Neill says she is unperturbed by such reports. “I'll contest the election on the basis of my track record,” she states. “If others are interested in a pact that is about trying to go back to the days of old — days that are gone and aren't going to return — that's on them.
“The electorate will make up (its) mind. I promised to be a First Minister for all on the day I took up office.
“I haven't just talked the talk. I've walked the walk. I'm going to bring that back to the electorate in two years' time, and ask people to vote for something positive, for looking forward, for inclusion and equality.”
So is she confident Sinn Fein will remain the biggest party?
“I'd never be complacent because you have to work for it,” she says. “We have to tell people we have their backs. We have to go out and earn every single vote.”
O'Neill has stretched the republican base by a range of gestures including becoming the first senior Sinn Fein figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Belfast. She acknowledges that some at a grassroots level found it “too much”.
She says: “It was difficult for some people, and I absolutely respect that. They're entitled to feel (that) given the complexity of this place and the history.
“But I'm in this role to lead and that means sometimes doing difficult stuff and stepping outside your comfort zone and stepping up to the plate.”
O'Neill says she never considered changing course on her outreach. Leadership can involve taking decisions “personally uncomfortable for yourself, your community and sometimes your friends”.
An image of executed 1916 leader James Connolly hangs in the room of our interview. A revolutionary firebrand, he lambasted monarchy as “a survival of the tyranny imposed by the hand of greed and treachery on the human race”.
Conflicting allegiances
So what would Connolly make of O'Neill's relationship with the royal family? “Who knows? He might curse me!” she replies.
The First Minister has no “allegiance” to the Windsors, but represents people who do, and “mending relations in a divided society” is important to her.
She has been stopped in the supermarket and elsewhere by unionists who have said “Thank you for what you did. Thank you for meeting King Charles”. She appreciated their approaches.
A parade will be held in Portadown today commemorating Harris Boyle, a member of the UVF gang responsible for the Miami Showband massacre. O'Neill doesn't believe the event should have been banned.
Everybody must have “the space to remember their dead”, and to do so in a “dignified and respectful” manner. Neither does she think it inappropriate that two GAA clubs are hosting the Joe Cahill Gaelic Competition — named after the former IRA leader — as part of the Feile an Phobail.
She argues that the festival brings together “people from all different backgrounds”. Some critics “just want to attack the GAA at every turn”.
For decades, Sinn Fein supported the IRA, but would those who opposed the armed campaign be welcome in the party's ranks today?
“Our doors are open. If you agree with our republican politics, about building a united Ireland, then there's a space for you,” O'Neill says.
“Look where we are. We're 27 years post-Good Friday Agreement. The society we live in has been transformed so, yes, we have to allow space to bring people in.”
DFM ‘misled’ committee over her Wimbledon trip
Conor Coyle, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
THE chair of a Stormont scrutiny committee has claimed Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly ‘misled’ committee members over her trip to Wimbledon earlier this month.
The Irish News revealed last week that the taxpayer was served a bill of close to £1,000 for Ms Little-Pengelly’s two-day trip to Wimbledon with her husband, Education Authority chief executive Richard Pengelly.
The pair sat in the Royal Box alongside pop stars Olivia Rodrigo and Dave Grohl, England football manager Thomas Tuchel and other celebrities at the centre court event.
Both First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Ms Pengelly were invited to the event by the chair of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Ms O’Neill did not go to the tennis tournament but instead attended the All-Ireland GAA football semi-final between Tyrone and Kerry in Croke Park.
The public received a bill of £980 for accommodation, flights and transport for the trip, with questions raised as to the public benefit to Northern Ireland.
The Executive Office (TEO) has said the expenditure was in line with Northern Ireland Civil Service policy, and that no “additional” spend was incurred as a result of Mr Pengelly’s attendance as a guest.
Executive Office committee chair Paula Bradshaw has called on TEO and Ms Little-Pengelly to be transparent with the public on the issue, while also claiming that the nature of the deputy first minister’s visit to London was “misrepresented” to committee members.
Stormont scrutiny chair says deputy first minister ‘misled’ committee
Ms Bradshaw said Ms Little-Pengelly had been asked to appear before the committee in the week before Stormont went into recess.
“The first minister, deputy first minister and two junior ministers were meant to come before committee the week before, which would have been their first time in front of us since October,” she told The Irish News.
Putting Wimbledon first
“The week before the first minister was unable to attend due to illness, so the question was asked whether they would be available the following week, the week before we finished for recess.
“We were told as a committee that the deputy first minister was in London, and so the assumption was that she was there on business, and she obviously wasn’t on business,” she added.
“She put going to Wimbledon before appearing in front of the scrutiny committee.
“I’m more annoyed at that because I feel we were misrepresented in terms of what she was doing in London.”
A spokesperson for TEO said Ms Little-Pengelly attended Wimbledon “in her official capacity”.
It added that there had been no “formal request” for the first minister and deputy first minister to attend the committee on July 2, and that both Ms O’Neill and Mrs Little-Pengelly are scheduled to appear before it on Wednesday September 10.
Education Authority chief executive Richard Pengelly with deputy first minister and wife Emma Little-Pengelly last month at Wimbledon
‘Racism exists here, it’s real’
Pat McArt, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
The north’s first Black mayor speaks to Pat McArt about facing down threats, working with other migrants, her love of Derry, and her ambitions for the future
IN 2010 a Kenyan woman came to Derry as a refugee.
It was not the most auspicious start, arriving on December 23 when it was minus 15 degrees and parts of the River Foyle were frozen over.
And this was not to be the last of many culture shocks to come her way.
A couple of weeks back, that very same woman stepped down as mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, the first Black person ever to hold such a position in the north.
Spurred on by her own trials and tribulations in regard to dealing with the immigration system, she set up the North West Migrants Forum in 2012, became an SDLP councillor in 2021, and mayor in June last year.
If that wasn’t enough, in recent months she has also been awarded two honorary degrees from American universities, and wants it put on the record that it was ‘the black lady mayor’ who got the long-awaited City Deal – which will see considerable financial investment in the Derry area – over the line.
Lilian Seenoi-Barr’s journey has been a remarkable one.
Spending two hours with her this week, one thing that came across all too clearly is that Lilian is no wilting flower. Far from it.
She is a tough woman, probably because she has had to be.
So, I decided to start with the obvious question: What was it like being the first ever Black mayor in Northern Ireland?
The answer was far from the PR spin I was anticipating.
“It was an honour and a privilege. I enjoyed it immensely. And I met many great people. I want that on the record.
Prejudice increasing
“But I have to be honest and say there was a negative side too. During my year as mayor, I saw more prejudice than ever.
“I saw fear, suspicion, and sometimes outright hate – especially driven by misinformation and some politicians who use migrants as scapegoats.
“When communities feel neglected, they get angry. And sometimes, they turn that anger toward the most visible ‘other’. And I was the most visible ‘other’ out there.”
What didn’t help in this regard was that from the off, her mayoralty was shrouded in controversy.
Two SDLP councillors resigned almost immediately on learning of her appointment, feeling they had been over-looked for the top job in favour of Seenoi-Barr, something, she says, “had nothing to do with me”.
“It’s hard for me to talk about that because I was not part of the decision making in regard to the selection of mayor. I followed all the rules I was given. The process that was sent to me, I followed to the letter. So, the decision to appoint me, that is not on me.
“There were three applicants for it, I applied for it, and I got it. Would you turn down an honour like that? If people had a grievance they should have gone to the people who appointed me. Why did I get abuse? I had done nothing wrong.”
That she was the first Black mayor made news across the globe, something Lilian finds ‘amazing’.
Lilian Seenoi-Barr served as Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council
And it was to prove a catalyst for some fairly venomous social media warriors to emerge. Probably the most famous was the American ‘shock-jock’ Alex Jones, known for peddling conspiracy theories, who launched a tirade against her.
A local man was also jailed for posting abusive messages around this time.
Moving on, another controversy I query were rumours that she had insisted on flying first-class to the US as part of a Derry-Donegal trade mission earlier this year, the racist overtones on several media postings suggesting she had got ‘uppity’.
She laughs heartily at that: “For starters, Aer Lingus don’t do first class. That’s the first thing to get out of the way. Secondly, the council don’t fly anyone first class.
‘I paid to upgrade’
“What actually happened was I invested in myself in that I paid to upgrade to business class. And it was a good decision.
“I was not going to America as a tourist, I was going on a mission to sell this city, this region. We planned hitting the ground running on getting off the plane, meeting high-powered people – politicians, investors etc. I wanted to be on top of my game. Not arriving tired and worn out.
“And, if I may say so, it worked. There are now a lot of people looking at Derry as a possible investment site.”
I noted that Lilian was taking this part of the interview very seriously, and that she had prepared something for me. So, I asked her what she wanted to say.
“I knew you’d ask about racism when interviewing me. There has been a lot written and said about me that is untrue, about how arrived here, about who I am, how I live my life. So, this is a powerful question for me, and I want to address it fully.
“Let’s start with a simple definition: Racism is when systems, institutions, or people treat others unfairly or unequally because of their race – often based on the idea that one race is superior.
“It’s not just about hate; it’s about power and structure. We also have to deal with prejudice and xenophobia.
“Racism exists here. It’s real. It’s in the systems – in employment, housing, education. It’s not always loud or obvious. It’s often subtle, embedded.”
So, I ask her, how did she deal with racism and hate?
“I shine. People who hate you for no reason, they’re afraid. Every time someone tried to pull me down, I rose higher. I used that hate to fuel me to keep doing better.”
Now married to local man Paul Barr and well settled in the city, Lilian, throughout our interview, repeated numerous times that she ‘absolutely loves’ Derry and it’s people – “the warmest people in the world, though it took me about two years to realise they were speaking English [laughs]” – but still misses Kenya very much.
In fact, she used the word ‘grieves’ when describing her sadness about her country.
One of 14 children, her father, Livingston, was a doctor and her mother, Joyce, a business woman. But, as Lilian points out, while this might sound middle class, it was far from it.
There was little money in the community and her parents made ‘huge sacrifices’ to get all of their children educated. She is, she says, ‘beyond grateful’ for those sacrifices.
After an idyllic childhood and having finished primary school, she was sent to a boarding school, and she now recognises that that was not just about education.
“I am a proud Maasai woman and we have some wonderful customs and traditions. But there is also a negative side.
“In our culture female genital mutilation was still practised, and many young girls are still often coerced into marriage way too young. My parents wanted to protect me from that.”
In fact, these were the very things that were later to force Lilian to flee Kenya, when in adulthood she became a community worker who fought against these practices.
“Like Ireland in the past, there was a lot of superstition, and when I had a child who had a disability – my Brian is a non-verbal autistic – misinformation was spread about that it was sign that I was a malign influence, that I was trying to destroy old traditions and culture.
“I started getting a lot of threats, and they eventually became death threats that got so serious I had to flee.”
That December day in 2010 is still written deep in the pages of her memory.
She had vague memories of seeing snow before, but nothing like the worst winter seen here in decades.
And in the weeks and months that were to follow, she could do nothing, as no-one she came across could tell her how to work the system.
North West Migrants Forum
As a refugee, how do you get a job? How do you get your son into school? What rights do you have?
And that’s where the seed for the North West Migrants Forum was planted.
“I didn’t want anyone to go through the bureaucratic hell I had gone through.
“I realised the need was so great when I invited two immigrant people I had met to a barbecue at my house and 60 people showed up.
“They were all so isolated and having massive problems navigating the system.
“And the full scale of the problem emerged when we organised an event in the Delacroix on the Buncrana Road in 2012, and despite the fact it was a disaster, 300 people came along. I had found my tribe. And I knew I could help.”
Last year the NWMF dealt with more than 2,000 cases. It has currently got eight staff, rising to 12 by the end of the year when it embarks on a big cross-border project that has received major funding.
Lilian is the director of the centre and even during her busy year as mayor, she kept her hand in by working early morning and late at night to ensure everything ran smoothly.
Asked to sum up her year as mayor, she again returned to the theme of racism.
“If our politicians are now calling it out, I see that as a win. In the past they were denying it or defending it, that it didn’t exist. That’s no longer the case. That’s a positive, so I am happy to have been a punchbag.
“I faced Maasai morons face to face as a young woman, so I can deal with some faceless online bullies.”
And what next? The Irish presidency?
“I have a big ambition that would I like to achieve by 2027, but I am not going to jinx it by telling you about it. But you’ll be the first to know it if happens!”
Occupants ‘terrified’ at ‘racially-motivated’ attacks on properties
Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
THE occupants of two houses in Larne have been left “terrified” after the properties were targeted in attacks police are investigating as racially-motivated hate crimes.
The attacks on Thursday evening have been condemned as “utterly unacceptable” as police appeal for those with information to come forward.
Masked individuals were behind an attack in the Hampton Crescent area of the Co Antrim town, which was reported to police at around 10.30pm.
“The suspects fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival – however, extensive damage was caused to a window and the door of the property,” PSNI Chief Inspector Christopher Tate said.
A second report was received at around the same time that damage had also been caused to a property in the Doric Way area.
Upon arrival, police found three front windows and two glass panes in the property’s front door had been smashed, while “racially motivated” graffiti was sprayed on the outside of the property.
“The occupants of both properties were thankfully not injured by these attacks – but are understandably terrified by what happened,” Chief Inspector Tate said.
“We are investigating both of these reports as racially-motivated hate crimes, with enquiries ongoing.
“This type of crime is utterly unacceptable and has no place in our society.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home, regardless of their race or background.
“We would urge anyone with information or footage that could help us to come forward and call 101, quoting reference numbers 1644 and 1650 31/07/25.”
Alliance councillor for Larne Lough, Maeve Donnelly, said the attacks were “appalling”.
“There is no place for racism or any hate-fuelled intimidation in our society,” she said.
“I am very glad to hear that noone has been injured, but this is a very frightening and serious incident. Everyone has a right to feel safe in their home and live peacefully regardless of their background.
“The actions of those responsible do not reflect the wider community, and our thoughts are with the individuals who have been targeted.
“I urge anyone with any information that could help the police in their investigations to get in contact with them immediately.”
Praise for staff as work goes on to repair Larne Leisure Centre
Rebecca Black, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
WORK is continuing to repair Larne Leisure Centre after it was damaged during rioting earlier this year.
Crowds took to the streets in Ballymena in early June after the alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town.
Two 14-year-old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, were charged with attempted rape.
A peaceful protest in the Co Antrim town about the alleged assault was followed by attacks on police and properties housing ethnic minorities, described by police as “racist thuggery”.
The disturbances lasted for several nights and spread to other areas of Northern Ireland.
They included an arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre, after rumours that some fleeing Ballymena had sheltered in the facility.
Almost two months on, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said it will be a number of months before the facility is able to fully reopen.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Jackson Minford, UUP, praised the resilience and passion of staff at the leisure centre for reopening some areas, and seeking alternative locations for summer schemes for young people.
He said the team is working through each area to clean and repair any damage, and work is currently under way in the gym area.
“It is with thanks to Larne Grammar School that we have been able to facilitate around 70 kids each week in our summer scheme which has proven to be a great success,” he said.
“The Disability Camp in Market Yard, along with the Multi-Sports camp taking place in Sandy Bay, both in August, still have spaces available.
“Within the centre, a temporary reception area has been installed, the pools are fully operational with swimming lessons ongoing, and Larne Swim Club continues to meet regularly.
“The popular Prom Cafe has reopened and I would encourage you to call in for a coffee to support them,” he added.
Flattery, a financial bung, MI5 briefing and a secret back-channel to Sinn Féin: DUP's route to power
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, August 2nd, 2025
DECLASSIFIED FILES LAY BARE HOW CLOSE THE PARTY CAME TO A DEAL WITH REPUBLICANS, JUST WEEKS BEFORE IRA'S NORTHERN BANK RAID... AND THE DIRECT TALKS IT WAS HAVING WITH ITS POLITICAL ENEMY DESPITE ALL THE DENIALS
Buried in thousands of pages of newly-declassified Downing Street files are secrets which lay bare how the DUP misled its voters and how the party's then deputy leader privately advised the Government on how to win over the ageing Ian Paisley.
The files, opened at The National Archives in Kew, provide new insight into how the Government grappled with the DUP replacing the UUP as the biggest party in November 2003, and how the DUP struggled to balance its ambition with decades of hardline promises.
The DUP returned 30 MLAs to the UUP's 27 — but the defection of Jeffrey Donaldson, Arlene Foster and Norah Beare put the DUP decisively ahead.
In public, the party insisted it was united. The reality was very different.
The Government was aware of a power struggle to succeed Paisley — by then in his late 70s — and a split between pragmatists and religious fundamentalists.
The files confirm last year's revelation from the Rev Harold Good about secret meetings between Donaldson and Martin McGuinness.
An October 25, 2002 Downing Street memo recorded that Bertie Ahern told Tony Blair: “McGuinness had a week ago set up a private channel to Donaldson.”
By 2004 there were a series of other references to a back-channel between the DUP and Sinn Féin. It is not clear if these all refer to Donaldson, or to others.
This directly contradicts repeated vociferous DUP denials that it ever talked to Sinn Féin before 2007.
In 2003 Paisley told Ivan Little that no one from the DUP had been talking to Sinn Féin, and anyone who did so would be expelled.
That same year Peter Robinson said: “There has been no contact — either through intermediaries or in any other fashion with Sinn Féin. We are open and above board, people know exactly what we are doing and we will not be telling people we are doing one thing in public and doing something else in private.”
Ian Paisley Jr said: “How many times must it be repeated that there has been no contact, direct or indirect, or by other means with Sinn Féin/IRA?”
In January 2004 Gregory Campbell said of Sinn Féin: “We will not be holding face-to-face discussions until the IRA has gone… we will not have discussions with them either by the front door or the back door while they have the prop of violence...”
On December 10, 2004 a DUP spokesman told the Belfast Telegraph: “We will not be changing our policy. We will not be talking to Sinn Féin until terrorism and criminality are a thing of the past. It is as simple as that.”
After years of seeking to prop up Trimble, Blair didn't immediately welcome the DUP's rise.
In May 2003 he told Ahern that “however frustrating it was to deal with Trimble, we must not forget that the DUP would be impossible to deal with”.
This was a misreading. NIO officials analysing the DUP manifesto spotted it was noticeably vague in key areas.
In the wake of the election, Blair's powerful chief-of-staff Jonathan Powell told the PM he believed “the Paisley faction…has no intention of doing a deal”, but “Robinson wants to get into government”, which meant that “the tension between the two wings will continue”.
He said while Sinn Féin would publicly keep pushing for devolution, “they don't care that much and they are just as happy continuing with direct rule, as long as we deliver all our various concessions”.
Providing DUP with enough rope
Powell said of the DUP: “We have to give them enough rope to allow them either to reach an accommodation and form an Executive or to hang themselves by demonstrating that they are unreconstructed bigots and wreckers. It is possible in this process that the party will split and political unionism will be re-configured.”
Just days after the election Paisley agreed to “a conduit between the party and the NIO” which would “operate both at special adviser and official level”. An NIO official said: “Paisley emphasised the need for confidentiality.”
Just four months later a note of a Blair-Ahern meeting with the DUP said “it was, as usual these days, entirely good-humoured”.
Files on the Leeds Castle talks in September 2004 have not yet been declassified. Those talks saw the gap between the DUP and Sinn Féin narrow, but remain.
By November Blair and Ahern believed they'd a chance to restore devolution — and part of their confidence was based on what they were hearing privately.
Robinson met the NIO's political director, Jonathan Phillips, on November 1. Phillips said he asked about the Taoiseach's recent criticism of the DUP and “Robinson said that in combination with a message from the British Government that this new phase would involve the closing down of the Assembly with the associated loss not only of MLAs' salaries but also their allowances (used to fund constituency secretaries), this could be a powerful incentive to strike a deal for those of his colleagues who were inclined to defer matters beyond the May elections”.
Phillips continued: “I then turned to the conversation I had with Gerry Kelly on Friday afternoon, asking whether Peter Robinson could see ways in which we could continue the indirect dialogue between the DUP and Sinn Féin, albeit less formally than in Downing Street last week, with a view to narrowing differences. He said that he would approach one or two of his colleagues (meaning Nigel Dodds and perhaps Gregory Campbell) to see whether they could be persuaded to share more of their bottom line position with us.”
He added that when asked about entering power-sharing by February or March, “leaving aside the Paisley dimension he said that he remained strongly in favour of doing the deal quickly on three grounds: nervousness about whether Dr Paisley would remain as committed to a deal in the medium term (and associated concerns about his health), question marks about whether the Sinn Féin/IRA offer would remain the same, and a judgement that their electoral [prospects] vis-a-vis the UUP would be better if a quality deal had been done beforehand”.
Phillips commented: “He is still clearly in the business of trying to secure a deal in the next week or two.”
But nine days later, when Robinson met Phillips alongside Dodds, he conveyed a different message.
Dodds said he had “massive reservations” about a March restoration, a view Robinson endorsed. Phillips warned that if that didn't happen, the Government might end MLAs' salaries and allowances, and institute “long term direct rule with an inevitably greener tinge”.
Robinson phoned Phillips a few hours later to say that “it had been helpful to have these messages sent”. Phillips said: “My own conclusion is that on the elements of the deal we are not too far apart.”
Five demands
Robinson set out five demands: a victims commissioner; de-rating Orange halls; Ulster-Scots funding; the Royal Irish Regiment's future, and £100m towards a £1bn infrastructure fund.
That same day Powell told Blair: “Although McGuinness has met Donaldson, nothing is happening on the back-channel, so we have tried to narrow the gaps between the two sides bilaterally.”
He said the “key point” for the DUP was now a deal's timing.
The previous day Phillips relayed in a 'secret and personal' memo to Downing Street details of a meeting between Powell and Sinn Féin.
Powell “asked whether there had been any further contact with the DUP. McGuinness said that he had met Jeffrey Donaldson for 45 minutes this morning, but there had been no discussion of policy positions. Donaldson had made clear that the DUP were now willing to see the expected Government proposals”.
Phillips said the Sinn Féin delegation said “they hoped to see the deal done quickly and were still referring to the timetable they claim they had agreed via their informal channels with Sinn Féin [this appears to be a typo which should read 'DUP'], namely, that a shadow Assembly would meet after the first phase of decommissioning, that the nominations for FM and DFM would then be announced and that committees would be established at this point to draft a ministerial code, a programme for government and to deal with other preparatory issues”. “In this phase there would also be agreement to the modalities of the devolution of justice and policing.”
On November 10 NIO director of communications Dennis Godfrey relayed that private focus groups showed “near universal approval” for the DUP's subtle shift and that “within the DUP Dodds has a stronger and wider appeal than Robinson (as in previous polling)… there were persistent comments that Dr Paisley had had his day and should 'hang up his boots'”.
That same day, Phillips recounted a lunch the Secretary of State had had with Paisley where “he seemed frailer than in previous encounters”.
Paisley was unhappy that the Taoiseach had publicly criticised him and “the details of confidential negotiations had been briefed to the media… the effect was to make it more difficult for him to manage his party”.
The note said Paisley had not confirmed that a deal could be done quickly, “let alone repeat the view attributed to him by Peter Robinson in an earlier conversation with you today to the effect that it would do the DUP no harm to go into elections having done a deal... he suggested that journalists' reports that the IRA would transform itself into a political intelligence arm for Sinn Féin were very worrying: why should a proper political party want such a thing?”
On November 16 Powell briefed Blair ahead of a private meeting with Paisley, and then a meeting involving Robinson, Campbell and Dodds.
Abandoning Trimble
In a brutal private abandonment of Trimble, Powell advised Blair to tell Paisley: “Any objective observer will see that you have obtained far more than David Trimble ever came near to achieving...this is not a leap in the dark but a real end to the conflict for which you will get deserved credit and respect.”
Powell said he'd also attached a note on “DUP desire for a financial bung”.
Phillips said that, in a private conversation, Robinson “went on to reiterate the need for a financial package”. However, Phillips said the reality was “there will be no more money from the Treasury”.
Instead, he suggested Stormont departments could produce £100m “via smoke and mirrors”.
For the fund to work, he said the DUP and Sinn Féin would “have to swallow hard some previous points of principle” around privatisation.
In the same memo Phillips relayed to Downing Street details of a conversation with Robinson on “the best way of handling Dr Paisley”.
He said: “I have included, but in square brackets, his suggestion about a private intelligence assessment on Privy Council terms.
“Clearly, this is for the Prime Minister's decision, but Robinson was clear that the power of flattery should not be under-estimated.
“The formula is deliberately intended to avoid committing the Security Service to a direct role since the Director General is not available to be consulted on that point.”
He said Robinson “still has some hesitations” about whether the proposed deal “is quite strong enough”.
Phillips said the objective was “to persuade Dr Paisley that doing a deal now will be to his and the DUP's advantage and that deferral is not an option, but without giving him the sense that he is being threatened”.
Blair was advised to tell Paisley: “I recognised at Leeds Castle how important [decommissioning] photographs were for you. Given that, I have felt an obligation to achieve it. It has been very difficult both with Dublin and with the IRA themselves.
“What we are now proposing may not be acceptable to the IRA, but Dublin will stick with us on it: photographs of the weapons and the materiel involved taken by the IRA in the presence of independent (clergymen) observers... published at the time the Executive is established... it will be a quality of decommissioning (100%, clergymen as independent observers, and photographs) hugely better than David Trimble obtained.”
Ultimately, there were never any such photos.
Setting out the timetable, Blair was advised to say to Paisley he was “grateful for your indication to me in Downing Street that you would stick to the February date you outlined at Leeds Castle, despite the passage of time”.
Paisley was to be told that the suggested MI5 briefing “can't be referred to in front of your colleagues”.
He was further advised to say: “My strong view is that this deal has to be done now… If the DUP can't come on board I shall feel obliged to try to nail down the IRA's commitment and I suspect that that will be at the price of concessions going beyond the Joint Declaration and that will make it more difficult for you to sign up later… the bottom line is that I need a powerful unionist voice to help me drag the IRA over the line and then provide a stable partner in government.”
The deal would have involved a series of choreographed statements on the week beginning November 29, with confirmation of total IRA decommissioning in December and a shadow Assembly in January.
But, on November 27, Paisley upset the delicate diplomacy by saying: “The IRA needs to be humiliated. And they need to wear their sackcloth and ashes, not in a backroom but openly.”
The talks floundered — and just three weeks later the IRA raided the Northern Bank in Belfast in what was the biggest such robbery in UK and Irish history.
When asked by the Belfast Telegraph if it would apologise for misleading its voters, the DUP last night declined to do so. It didn't dispute any of the secret talks with Sinn Féin and admitted that “some individual members...did accept invites to confidential meetings” to see if they could reach a deal.
However, it added: “The party did not authorise any meetings with Sinn Fein before March 2007”.
These files demonstrate how close the DUP was to entering government with a movement which retained a private army — and the gulf between the party's hardline public statements and its private pragmatism.
Burrows adds media polish to the Ulster Unionists’ men in uniform
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
FORMER top cop Jon Burrows is the Ulster Unionists’ new man in the assembly, replacing the largely anonymous Colin Crawford, who quit his North Antrim seat after less than a year in the role.
Mr Burrows is a polished media performer, though there’s a lot more to being an effective MLA than speaking on the TV or radio.
He brings to five the number of former ‘men in uniform’ in the UUP’s team, the others being ex-Royal Navy submarine commander Steve Aiken, former firefighter Robbie Butler and demobbed British soldiers Doug Beattie and Andy Allen.
They now outnumber the non-uniformed MLAs by at least two-to-one, and female UUP representatives in the assembly by five-to-one.
Jon Burrows will be co-opted into the assembly by the UUP as a replacement for Colin Crawford
NEWRY, Mourne and Down Council’s proposal for a cable car in the Mournes appears to be going down hill fast.
Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir left the £50 million Mourne Mountains Gateway Project in Rostrevor’s Kilbroney Park hanging precariously earlier this week, citing its potential impact on environmentally sensitive areas, and leaving the local authority with a mountain to climb if the ‘pie in the sky’ plan is to come to fruition.
The Rostrevor gondola and accompanying visitors’ centre was a ‘Plan B’ hatched by council officials in seeming desperation after the National Trust put the kibosh on a previous proposal to build it 15 miles away on the lower slopes of Slieve Donard.
If the project falls, the authority misses out on £30m of funds from Stormont under the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD).
Apart from the potential damage to woodlands, ancient trees, wildlife habitats, biodiversity and what Mr Muir’s department termed “the aesthetic and social value of the local landscape”, residents in the Co Down village, which is effectively wedged between the mountains and the sea, are concerned about the volume of traffic associated with the gondola and visitors’ centre, with the council claiming its Slieve Donard counterpart would’ve attracted 365,000 visitors a year – which conveniently equates to 1,000 people every day.
After The Irish News broke the story on Tuesday, the council issued a press release which neither confirmed nor denied the cable car plan had crashed.
In fact the only hint that the project has faltered was use of the past tense in the line saying “the council had recently been exploring a proposal to deliver the Mourne Mountains Gateway project in Kilbroney Forest Park”.
The press release goes on to say that the council “remains committed to securing the £30m BRCD investment for the district and is actively exploring options”.
“Further updates will be provided in the coming weeks,” it concluded, tantalisingly.
It looks like securing the City Deal money is a hill the council top brass is determined to die on – if only they can find a suitable hill.
A GAA kids’ football summer camp in Co Tyrone was this week forced to move venues because of what organisers described as a “horrendous smell”, thought to emanate from a local compost factory.
The Sawgrass Substrates Ltd factory in Killeeshil makes mushroom compost by mixing of hay, chicken litter, and water.
The company says it complies with all environmental requirements and takes “community feedback seriously”.
When considered alongside ongoing complaints about a stink coming from Warrenpoint Port, the asbestos controversy in south Belfast, and the continued ecological catastrophe that is Lough Neagh and the majority of other waterways, it’s clear environmental governance is broken.
Environment is poor relation
Over the years the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has steadily become the poor relation in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, with successive ministers focusing on the promotion of agriculture to the detriment of our environment. The chickens are now coming home to roost.
Daera minister Andrew Muir last year appointed a three-member panel to conduct a review of the region’s environmental governance, including considering options for an independent environment protection agency, something vetoed almost 20 years ago.
If the opportunity to make a real difference is lost again, it may not come around again for another two decades, by which time it’ll definitely be too late.
EMMA Little-Pengelly’s trip to Wimbledon last month has drawn criticism, as it cost the public purse almost £1,000, including £96 for use of an airport lounge.
The deputy first minister, who was accompanied by her husband and Education Authority chief executive Richard Pengelly, was invited to attend by the chair of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The brewing controversy could potentially see two adversaries co-operate to establish what official business Ms Little-Pengelly was conducting seated in the Royal Box overlooking Centre Court.
Executive Committee chair Paula Bradshaw and TUV MLA Timothy Gaston previously clashed over the former’s chairing of First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s appearance before the committee last October, yet both are united in their desire to apply appropriate scrutiny to the deputy first minister’s “jolly”, as the North Antrim representative described the trip.
If, come September, Ms Pengelly is called before the committee, the chair’s displeasure would suggest we can rule out any pre-meeting confab between the two – or can we, in the interests of equality?
Environment Agency had weeks to decontaminate asbestos site before Eleventh Night bonfire
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, August 2nd, 2025
THE north’s environmental watchdog has been accused of “total inaction” after it emerged that a criminal investigation into asbestos at a vacant south Belfast site was launched almost two months before controversy flared ahead of an Eleventh Night bonfire.
SDLP councillor Séamas De Faoite said the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) had adequate time to deal with the contaminated site before it became the centre of a dispute in the run-up to the Twelfth.
NIEA launched a criminal probe on May 19, focusing on land close to Meridi Street in the Village owned by Armagh-based Boron Developments.
The company, which does not list any contact details, bought the site in 2017 and was made aware at the time that it was contaminated with asbestos.
Safety concerns were raised after it emerged the land was the site of an Eleventh Night bonfire.
A spokesperson for NIEA said it could confirm it was “aware remediation had not commenced” at the site.
“An environmental crime investigation opened on May 19 and initial enquiries commenced,” the spokesperson said.
“Instigation of an investigation by NIEA Environmental Crime Unit has been previously outlined.
“NIEA is focused on the efforts by the landowner to remove the asbestos pile safely from the site and the environmental crime investigation will continue.”
Mr de Faoite said NIEA had “been aware of all these converging issues since May”.
“Here we are in August and decontamination still does not appear to have commenced – in that time there appears to have been absolutely no enforcement action to get the site decontaminated or force the landowner to act,” he said.
“The message that has been sent by NIEA and the department’s total inaction is that they will allow pollution and public health risks with total impunity.”
Environment Minister Andrew Muir told the BBC that NIEA was focused on making sure that the asbestos pile is “safely removed”.
“The Northern Ireland Environment Agency rightly considers this very seriously and will be doing all that they can in regards to it because this is an issue of concern and the officials in my department are working studiously in regards to it,” he said.
