Adams: North's political process in serious difficulty

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said the North's political process is in serious difficulty.

He claimed a negative political axis was trying to undermine the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement which largely ended violence.

Members of the powersharing government at Stormont have been at loggerheads over issues including dealing with the legacy of the conflict, controversial flags and marches as well as welfare reform.

Mr Adams said: “As everyone knows, the political process in the North is currently in serious difficulty. A negative political axis is currently seeking to undermine the Good Friday Agreement and turn back the clock on the progress of recent years.

“We now have the ludicrous position of unionist leaders, who repeatedly walked away from talks, asking for new talks.”

He added: “Unionist political leaders may hanker after a return to majority rule in the North but that is never, ever, going to happen. The Orange State is gone forever.”

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson has expressed concern about delays, disagreements and “unsatisfactory compromises” facing ministers.

He called for a fresh round of political negotiations with government involvement, on the scale of the 2006 St Andrews Agreement – which led to the DUP agreeing to share power with Sinn Féin.

Mr Adams claimed: “Rather than seek to bring them to their senses, the British Government’s interventions to date have merely encouraged unionist intransigence.

“Sinn Féin is open to negotiations and dialogue and we have been very clear that the Irish and British Governments and the US administration should be involved.”