O’Neill says DUP has blocked her from Glasgow economic meeting

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill says the DUP has prevented her from attending a UK National Economic Council meeting in Glasgow on Friday, leaving the region without representation at the gathering, she said.

O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly had both been invited, alongside other devolved leaders, to the event with Prime Minister Andy Burnham. O’Neill called the decision “reckless and irresponsible” and described it as a “reactive stunt” driven by DUP internal pressures and electoral concerns.

Little-Pengelly said the anger and hurt felt by people in Northern Ireland over O’Neill’s conduct could not be ignored or minimised. She said she had requested a separate meeting with Burnham to discuss Northern Ireland’s interests, including urgent budget and funding challenges facing the Executive.

The dispute follows unionist criticism of Sinn Féin’s involvement in protests that prevented an Orange Order march from passing along Portadown’s Garvaghy Road. O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures have been interviewed by police investigating unnotified demonstrations there. Sinn Féin has defended O’Neill’s involvement; the party has been accused by unionists of acting unlawfully.

The row has intensified pressure within the DUP over its response. A meeting of the party’s ruling committee was due on Thursday, with officers expected to consider whether to withdraw Little-Pengelly or halt official engagements with O’Neill, the BBC reported. DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said the party reached a democratic decision on how to handle the fallout and that it had considered all options.