It would not have been wise to invite Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald to a political meeting about the Northern Ireland Protocol because she is a "representative of a parliament in an EU member state", Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said.
The row over the exclusion of the Sinn Fein president from a political meeting with the Foreign Secretary rumbled on as Irish premier Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were all holding talks in Northern Ireland as part of efforts to resolve the dispute over the post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The Taoiseach and Sir Keir are meeting with the main Stormont parties to discuss the deadlock over the protocol, which the DUP has cited as its reason for boycotting Northern Ireland's devolved institutions since May.
