The British Government will not set a deadline for the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton Harris has said. 

The Stormont Executive collapsed last year after First Minister Paul Givan resigned amid unhappiness in the DUP about the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

After Sinn Féin withdrew from the Executive in 2017, it triggered an Assembly election but, speaking in the House of Commons today, the Secretary of State confirmed he saw no point in a fresh ballot. 

“One thing I have learnt in my role as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is that deadlines are deadly,” Mr Heaton Harris said. 

“It’s pointless setting timelines on things. 

“Getting the job done properly, so when the Executive comes back it can be there for a very, very long time, is the right thing to do and that’s what everyone is working towards.” 

W56W3C Stormont, the parliament building of the Northern Ireland Assembly where the Northern Ireland devolved government meet.

There had been hopes the DUP would nominate Ministers to the Executive after London and Brussels reformed the protocol and renamed it the ‘Windsor Framework’. 

The agreement is being examined by a committee of party grandees who pronounce on whether the reforms are sufficient enough to warrant a return to power sharing.

Main image: Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Secretary arrives at a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street London. Credit: Ian Davidson/Alamy Live News