Bill Clinton holds talks in No10 with Theresa May to try and break Northern Ireland deadlock as Stormont given 11 days to form a Government or be ruled from London
Ex-US President pictured shaking hands with the PM day after he held talks with political leaders in Belfast
BILL Clinton has held talks in Number 10 with Theresa May to try and break the deadlock in the Northern Ireland assembly.
It comes as the parties in Stormont have been given 11 days to form a new power-sharing government or they will have their budget drafted from London.
Mr Clinton played a key role in helping to secure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which cemented peace in the province.
But Downing Street made clear former President had not been used to deliver a message on behalf of the Government to the parties.
The devolved institutions at Stormont remain suspended following the collapse of the administration in January in the wake of the resignation of the late Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.
Talks on getting the government back up and running have repeatedly broken down – with Sinn Fein’s request that the DUP’s Arlene Forster leave her post as First Minister have been rebuffed.
But after the date for getting the administration back up and running has been extended several times, the Northern Ireland Secretary has put a hard deadline on getting an agreement.
In a written statement today James Brokenshire said "I have made clear that I will only legislate (to restore Northern Ireland's executive) on the basis of a written agreement between the parties.
"If this is not forthcoming before 30 October, the only option remaining would be to legislate for a budget at Westminster."
This will also raise the prospect of the complete collapse of the Government in Belfast, and a return to direct rule by the UK Government which could damage the stability of the region.
The meeting in Downing Street followed private discussions earlier this week between Mr Clinton and the main Northern Ireland party leaders.
As he left after almost an hour with the PM he told the waiting media: "We had a wonderful talk."
Asked by reporters about the prospects for Brexit, he said: "We didn't talk much about that. I don't have much of a portfolio here."
And Mrs May tweeted several pictures of herself meeting the man who ruled America from 1992 to 2000.
In Mr Brokenshire’s update on the political situation he said the remaining sticking points “are small in number but highly difficult and sensitive - notably in relation to language and culture”.
And he said “The outlook for an imminent resolution is not positive. Time is running out.
“And without an agreement, we are on a glide path to increasing intervention by the UK Government.”
He said of the plans to take budgetary control back to London: “This is not a step I wish to take, nor one I would take lightly.”
