Minutes show Foster saying she ‘can’t stand’ with O’Neill after Storey funeral

First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill leaves the Clayton Hotel in Belfast after giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 inquiry hearing on Tuesday

Minutes from a fractious meeting of the Stormont Executive in 2020 show then first minister Arlene Foster saying she “can’t stand” on the same platform as Michelle O’Neill after the Sinn Féin minister’s attendance at the funeral of Bobby Storey.

The minutes show Ms O’Neill defending her attendance at the funeral, claiming there was “no dilution” of the public health message at the height of the pandemic.