Sinn Féin ‘peddling doom and gloom’ - Donaldson

The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson has criticised Sinn Féin's position on the ongoing talks. Credit: Presseye

Senior DUP negotiator Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has accused Sinn Féin of “peddling doom and gloom” about the state of the current round of Stormont talks.

In a bleak assessment of how things were going, Michelle O’Neill said her party had not seen any real progress so far, adding: “Nothing that we could report that’s anything significant.”

However, Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey hit back by questioning whether Sinn Féin actually wanted to reach agreement.

“I very much regret that Sinn Féin seem to be the doom and gloom merchants who are falsely accusing other parties of not engaging,” he said.

“DUP and the government and the other parties have attended every meeting, have been actively engaging, and we believe all of the parties are actively engaged.

“In fact, the only party who we believe has been holding back in these discussions is Sinn Féin.”

He added: “Having to listened to Michelle O’Neill’s comments today, it raises a serious question in our mind as to the level of commitment that Sinn Féin are giving to this process."

Having already missed one deadline in the bid to restore devolved power-sharing in Northern Ireland, the political parties are undertaking further talks aimed at ending the deadlock.