In a statement after the meeting with party leaders, Heaton-Harris said he was concerned about the emergence of a “black hole” in the budget for Northern Ireland, but did not name a date for the election. His refusal to set a date after repeatedly reminding party leaders they would face such unless they redistributed power is seen as the first test of Heaton-Harris’s credibility. Northern Ireland’s two main parties accused Heaton-Harris of not providing clarity on the issue. The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Sir Geoffrey Donaldson, said he had been given “no indication at this stage that a deal is close or imminent”. “I call on the government to focus on these negotiations. Let’s make progress. Let’s do this,” he said. Sources in London have suggested that the foreign secretary, James Cleverley, is pushing back the date that would allow UK-EU talks on the Northern Ireland protocol to take off. Talks between the EU and the UK restarted last month, with Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker outlining hopes for a confidential “tunnel” – without public comment – focusing on technical solutions for border controls and VAT issues before political leaders take on tackling red lines including the role of the European Court of Justice. After a meeting with party leaders in Belfast, Heaton-Harris hinted he was worried about calling an election. “I spoke to party leaders today and expressed how disappointed I am that under current law my legal duty is now to call an election. I heard the various views of the party leaders regarding the announcement of the election. “There are important government issues that need to be addressed due to the absence of ministers. I am particularly concerned that the Executive has a huge black hole in its budget, which has potentially serious implications for the delivery of many of Northern Ireland’s public services. Budgeting measures will be required in the short term. I will provide further information on next steps in due course.” Subscribe to This is Europe The most central stories and debates about Europeans – from identity to the economy to the environment Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Stormont ministers walked out last week after the legal deadline to form a devolved government of midnight on Thursday passed without a resolution, with Heaton-Harris saying he is now legally bound to call an election. Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said the election was a “stupid” solution to the power-sharing impasse, adding that Northern Ireland was being treated as “a football between the UK and the EU”. Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O’Neill said Heaton-Harris had given “no clarity” on how he would deal with the Stormont crisis, while Donaldson said they had not been told “if and when” an election would be called . . “So at the moment, neither we nor the people of Northern Ireland know if or when an election will take place,” Donaldson said.
