Direct rule will be reintroduced in Northern Ireland if talks fail, MPs told
The Northern Ireland secretary has not ruled out stopping the salaries of assembly members if the current political deadlock is not broken.
He has been updating MPs after a deadline to setup a power-sharing executive was missed yesterday.
James Brokenshire also said he would consider a return to direct rule if there is no progress.
However, he is hopeful of an eventual deal.
"It is essential therefore, that the intensity of discussions is stepped up with renewed intent and focus and I believe that a positive outcome remains possible."
The British government will countenance the reintroduction of direct rule in Northern Ireland if extended talks to restore powersharing fail, the British Secretary of State James Brokenshire has warned.
Mr Brokenshire said the intensity of negotiations needed to increase in the days and weeks ahead after a statutory deadline to form a new Stormont executive passed on Monday without agreement.
Addressing MPs in Westminster, he said if there was a successful resolution he would move legislation to enable an administration to be formed without the need for another snap election.
However, if talks fail, he made clear the Government would consider direct rule.
"In the absence of devolved government, it is ultimately for the United Kingdom Government to provide for political stability and good governance," he told the House of Commons.
"We do not want to see a return to direct rule.
"As our manifesto at the last election stated, ’local policies and local services should be determined by locally-elected politicians through locally-accountable institutions’.
"But should the talks fail in their objectives, the Government will have to consider all options."
The Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein administration collapsed in January amid a bitter row over a botched green energy scheme.
The subsequent snap election campaign laid bare a range of other contentious issues dividing the parties.
Under current legislation, the Government is required to call another snap election if a deadline for forming an executive passes.
Mr Brokenshire said he would seek to amend that law to avoid a new election if a deal can be forged in the time ahead.
- PA
