Prime Minister calls for Stormont return ahead of US President Biden visit to Northern Ireland

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he hopes the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement will allow "everyone to reflect on what was achieved".

President Biden is due to arrive in Northern Ireland on the 11 April and while on a local election campaign trip to Peterborough the PM was asked if Biden's visit will change anything politically, or if it is mainly a commemorative event.

Mr Sunak said: "What we are doing is commemorating 25 years of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, and it's important to remember that that agreement helped bring peace and stability to Northern Ireland.

"And it was the balance that was so integral to that agreement that had been disrupted by the protocol.

"I was pleased that we were able to agree the new Windsor Framework to ensure that we could restore that balance, protect Northern Ireland's place in our union, ensure the smooth... flow of trade across our United Kingdom.

"That's what the Windsor Framework does, I'm pleased that we've agreed it and are now implementing it. I very much hope that this moment will (allow) everyone to reflect on what was achieved, and I pay tribute to everyone for their achievements."

Earlier on Wednesday the White House confirmed the President would visit Northern Ireland.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated the trip to the whole island of Ireland would last from April 11 to 14 and would take in Belfast, Dublin, Co Louth and Co Mayo.

The President will visit Northern Ireland on the 11-12 April.

He will then travel to the Republic, to discuss what the White House described as "close co-operation on shared global challenges".Mr Sunak added: "But also we need to look forward in Northern Ireland, build that brighter future that we know is possible, and that requires our institutions there to be up and running and that is something I would urge all parties to look forward to doing."

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