DUP leader blasts Varadkar's ‘megaphone diplomacy’ over Northern Ireland

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (right) with Gordon Lyons speaking to the media during the Northern Ireland Investment Summit (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has accused Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of using unhelpful “megaphone diplomacy” over Northern Ireland while negotiations continue to restore the Stormont Assembly.

Mr Donaldson, whose party is continuing its blockade of the devolved institutions in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements, said that “unlike the Taoiseach” he has a mandate for his position.