Boris Johnson accused of threatening Irish peace process by ‘wining and dining’ DUP leaders

New prime minister completes his tour of the four nations of the UK with talks on restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland

Boris Johnson has been accused of imperilling the Northern Ireland peace process by “wining and dining” Democratic Unionist Party leaders ahead of talks on the restoration of power-sharing institutions.

As Mr Johnson made his first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming prime minister, the Sinn Fein leader, Mary Lou McDonald, warned he must not allow himself to become the “gopher” of Arlene Foster’s party, on whose votes he relies for a working majority to deliver his Brexit policy in parliament.

The prime minister was barracked by workers from the under-threat Harland and Wolff shipyard outside Stormont, where he spoke with representatives of the five main Northern Irish parties on the last leg of a tour of the four nations of the UK which has also seen him booed in Scotland and Wales.

Mr Johnson denied suggestions that his private dinner with Ms Foster and other senior DUP figures on Tuesday had impacted on his even-handedness.

"It's all there in the Good Friday Agreement,” he said. “We believe in complete impartiality and that's what we are going to observe.

"But the crucial thing is to get this Stormont government up and running again."

But Ms McDonald dismissed his claim of impartiality as “laughable”.

"He tells us he will act with absolute impartiality, we have told him that nobody believes that," she said.

She said the confidence and supply deal under which the DUP has propped up the minority Tory government since 2017 had "poisoned the groundwater" at Stormont.

"He asked for our advice and we have strongly advised him that to make progress here he needs to ensure that he is not the DUP's gopher,” she said. “He needs to stop mollycoddling them, he needs to spell out the realities of life to them and put pressure on his unionist colleagues to ensure we can land on an equitable and sustainable agreement.”

The Northern Ireland executive and assembly have been suspended since January 2017 following a breakdown of trust between Sinn Fein and the DUP. Talks to restore the institutions resumed in May following the murder of journalist Lyra McKee and have continued largely out of the spotlight of publicity.

Residents of the border area staged a protest outside Stormont (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said Mr Johnson's "wining and dining" of the DUP had set the wrong tone for the visit.

"It sends a message that he has a cosy relationship with one party here in Northern Ireland and that's damaging to our peace process," she said.

"We went into this meeting concerned that he would have a limited understanding of the complexities and the fragility of this place and those concerns have been confirmed. It is very clear he views and understands the situation through the eyes of the DUP."

Ms Foster said she would not apologise for a confidence and supply agreement which has delivered an additional £1bn for services in Northern Ireland, and which is shortly due for review in what may be an expensive process for Mr Johnson.

The DUP leader said Mr Johnson had told her he would never be neutral on the Union, but would act in a neutral way in the administration of governance in Northern Ireland.

"You shouldn't confuse the two and today I have heard those two matters confused quite regularly," she said.

"He'll never be neutral on the Union and talk of a border poll was not something he was entertaining.”

Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald spoke after her meeting with Mr Johnson (PA)

Ms McDonald said she told the prime minister that it would be “unthinkable” for the people of Northern Ireland to be denied a poll on unification with the Republic in the case of a disorderly no-deal Brexit.

Residents of the border area staged a protest outside Stormont against the prospect of a no-deal outcome.

Declan Fearon from Border Communities Against Brexit said they wanted to let the prime minister know that it was "nonsense" to believe that after a hard Brexit there would be no disruption to their daily lives.

"We are adamant that there can be no reinstatement of the border ,” he said. “The vast majority of people who live in this country want to remain in the customs union."

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, dined with Mr Johnson ahead of the talks (PA)

Following the talks, Downing Street said Mr Johnson wanted to get the devolved Northern Irish institutions ”back up and running as soon as possible”.

"The prime minister told all of the parties that he was determined to bring this process to a successful conclusion and that he would do everything he could to make it happen,” said a No 10 spokesman.

The PM and Julian Smith, the Northern Ireland secretary, leave Stormont after talks (Getty) (Getty Images)

"He said that while there had been constructive progress in recent weeks at Stormont, that there now needed to be serious and intense engagement to get this done and that he had faith that all parties would step up to the challenge."

The spokesman said Mr Johnson had assured the parties that he would be “steadfast” in his commitment to the Good Friday Agreement during Brexit talks and would not allow the imposition of physical checks or infrastructure on the border.