The Northern Ireland minister, Steve Baker, has made a direct appeal to the Democratic Unionist party to accept EU-UK negotiations on the Brexit protocol and return to powersharing in Stormont.
He also warned that if the DUP did not return to Stormont by Friday’s deadline, the government would call fresh assembly elections .
“This is one place where we are really not going to have a U-turn,” he told the British-Irish parliamentary assembly in County Cavan, Ireland.
His comments came amid speculation that the Conservative party leadership election could upset the fragile talks between the UK and the EU to end the protocol dispute.
“We will continue in the short term to press all parties to re-form the Northern Ireland executive.
“We want to see the DUP, in particular, accept that this government and whichever PM the UK returns will continue our policy of reaching an agreement acceptable to all sides.
“We want the DUP to accept that, and re-form the executive in order to avoid an election, but we are very clear that we will otherwise call an election and we will call it to get it done as soon as it is feasible,” he said.
In an email to party members over the weekend, the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson indicated the party would not be ending its boycott of Stormont saying “the protocol debris” needed to be removed. “You can’t proceed with powersharing if one community is not on board. It doesn’t work.”
Speaking at the same event as Baker, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, also criticised the DUP for blocking the restoration of powersharing at Stormont.
“The decision of one political party not to participate in the NI executive runs counter to democracy and risks undermining the faith of people in the potential of politics,” he said.
Baker and the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, have impressed the EU and the Irish leadership with the intensity and breadth of their engagement with political parties in Belfast, but some believe they could be moved in a reshuffle.
Heaton-Harris championed Boris Johnson, which may put him at risk now it has been announced that Rishi Sunak will become the next PM. Some also believe Baker will get a promotion after his sharp criticism of Boris Johnson on Sunday.
Baker urged the EU to recognise the “legitimate interests” of the DUP and other unionists in the talks, including elimination of the role of the European court of justice in arbitrating trade disputes and the removal of checks on goods coming to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
“For unionists, the direct application of EU laws and the jurisdiction of the court of justice of the EU, show that while Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the UK, it is treated differently.
“And I have to say in the context of this leadership election, and the need for the Conservative party to come together, it’s very important to remember that this is crucial for conservative Eurosceptics too. So as somebody who wants stable and good government in the UK I want to say to you all, we do need to respect everyone’s legitimate interests, including those of unionists,” he said.
Baker insisted on Sky News last week that he had not gone “soft on Brexit” and the drive was to get the Northern Ireland protocol negotiations into the “tunnel” where both sides have the freedom to come up with creative solutions in private.
We need to “get into the negotiation, solve the technical problems and then towards the end we’ll deal with our red lines”, he said.
