Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“This morning’s speech by the Secretary of State at the Belfast Agreement jamboree at Queen’s was predictably lapped up by the audience but Unionists would be wise not to take it at face value.
“In fact, when one considers what the Secretary of State is demanding of Unionists the absurdity of his claims is obvious.
“This is a man who was happy to serve in government while it argued in the Supreme Court that the Protocol put Article Six of the Acts of Union in suspension.
“Now he tells us that putting Sinn Fein in charge of a Stormont administration will save the Union! What nonsense!
“Unionists should remember that any minister in a Stormont executive will be required by law to be part of a Vichy regime which implements EU law over which no one in Northern Ireland has any say. How would Unionists being part of an administration which must implement the partition of the U.K. help strengthen the Union? The simple answer is that of course it would not!”