The outgoing Northern Ireland secretary has been blasted for having "shamefully placated the DUP". Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill was critical of Brandon Lewis as he joined the ranks of Conservative ministers leaving office in a move against Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
She claimed he "abandoned any pretence of acting with the 'rigorous impartiality' required of him under the Good Friday Agreement". "He has shamefully placated the DUP by giving them political cover in denying the electorate the democratic representation they are entitled to," she said.
The Stormont Assembly remains collapsed amid a row over the Northern Ireland Protocol. The DUP is refusing to nominate ministers to the executive or a speaker to allow the Assembly to function until the UK government takes action on the post-Brexit arrangements.
