DUP blocks Michelle O'Neill from taking part in economic council with the Prime Minister over the Drumcree dispute

The key facts

The DUP barred O'Neill from joint and solo appearances, including participation in the council in Glasgow
The trigger was unnotified protests in Portadown, over which police interviewed O'Neill
Little-Pengelly requested a separate meeting with the Prime Minister on budgetary issues

Blocking participation in the council

First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill will not be able to take part in the meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions in Glasgow on Friday alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham and other leaders of devolved administrations. DUP leader Gavin Robinson confirmed that his party colleague, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, will not take part in joint events with O'Neill, and permission for the First Minister to attend in a 'solo format' will not be granted. This is reported by BBC News. The Prime Minister's council was revived in the summer to strengthen cooperation between the regions and nations.

The trigger — the dispute over the Portadown parade

The decision followed unionist anger over Sinn Féin's participation in protests that prevented a contentious Orange Order parade from proceeding along the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown. O'Neill and other senior figures in the party were interviewed by police over unnotified demonstrations last month; she defended her participation, calling it 'the right thing to do'. Robinson said the First Minister's 'arrogance' 'will have consequences', while O'Neill called the DUP's actions 'reckless and irresponsible' and a 'reactive stunt' that will leave people in Northern Ireland 'without representation'. Little-Pengelly said the decision was taken after a separate meeting with the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, was cancelled, and she requested her own meeting with the Prime Minister to represent the region's interests, including the executive's 'pressing budgetary issues'.

Internal pressure within the DUP and party reactions

The blocking became a compromise amid internal pressure: last week MP Carla Lockhart stepped down from the party's ruling officer board, unhappy that Robinson had not withdrawn Little-Pengelly in order to push O'Neill out of the joint office at Stormont. On Thursday she warned that she would go her 'own way' if the party failed to secure O'Neill's removal; she was backed by MLAs Diane Forsythe and Maurice Bradley, as well as Lord McCrea and councillor Cuthbertson. Robinson, speaking on the programme The View , stressed that those who broke the law should be punished, not 'everyone in Northern Ireland', but that 'all options remain on the table'. Reactions from other parties were divided: TUV leader Jim Allister called the DUP's response a 'pathetic imitation', Alliance leader Naomi Long called it a reckless step that harms the region's economy, Traditional Unionist leader John Burrows called it a 'political gem', while the SDLP's Matthew O'Toole warned that the chaos is 'not a sensible strategic move for unionism'. Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant described the executive's absence from the council as 'deeply disappointing'. According to court proceedings last week, police intelligence suggested that dissidents could have opened fire on police officershad they cleared the way for the parade.