Politicians react to appointment of Chris Heaton-Harris as Northern Ireland Secretary
Politicians have been reacting to the appointment of Chris Heaton-Harris to the role of Northern Ireland Secretary.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, has requested an urgent meeting with the Conservative MP to "press home the priorities for Northern Ireland".
The 54-year-old, who represented Daventry in England at the House of Commons, was appointed to the role by new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday.
He replaces Shailesh Vara who was sacked before Mr Heaton-Harris' appointment.
On his website, Mr Heaton-Harris describes himself as a "fierce Eurosceptic" and between 2010 and 2016 held the post as chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) comprised of pro-Brexit Conservative MPs.
DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has called on Mr Heaton-Harris to act on the Northern Ireland Protocol - a Brexit trade deal agreed between the UK and EU.
His party has refused to re-enter power sharing at Stormont until its concerns over the agreement have been resolved. In a statement, the Lagan Valley MP said: "Like England, Scotland and Wales, we require action with the firepower of Treasury to get businesses and households through this winter of soaring costs.
"Northern Ireland is further hampered in this cost-of-living crisis due to the Northern Ireland Protocol inflating costs for businesses and consumers as well.
"This is exactly why we need to see the secretary of state working to replace the protocol with arrangements that unionists can support."
Meanwhile, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney urged Mr Heaton-Harris to make the restoration of Stormont a priority.
He wrote on twitter that he had known the Conservative MP during their time serving as members of the European Parliament.
"I look forward to working closely with him in the coming months," he added.
"First job - a functioning executive for NI."
TUV leader Jim Allister said he hoped the new NI Secretary would play an "active part" in delivering Northern Ireland from the "iniquitous protocol".
"Having served as a MEP at the same time as Chris Heaton-Harris and bee on the same side in Eurosceptic battles in Brussels, I welcome his appointment as Northern Ireland Secretary of State," added Mr Allister in a statement.
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