Stormont leaders warn of risk to services if promise to replace EU funds broken

The Conservative Party made a manifesto commitment to replace the ESF in its entirety (Alamy/PA)

Stormont leaders have warned valuable services in Northern Ireland face “grave uncertainty” over the UK government’s failure to replace the EU funds lost after Brexit.

The leaders of the region’s five main political parties have written a joint letter to Simon Clarke, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, calling for the European Social Fund (ESF) to be replaced in its entirety.