South Down MP Chris Hazzard was in Downing Street as part of a senior Sinn Féin delegation which travelled to London toxa0discuss the restoration ofxa0the political institutions.
The delegation also outlined thexa0enormous challengesxa0posed by the British government’s commitment toxa0Brexit.
Mr Hazzard said: xa0“For years now successive British governments have disengaged from the peace process. They have walked away from their responsibilities as a co-guarantor of the peace agreements and they continue to fail to protect the rights of minorities.
“The Tory/DUP pact has compounded these difficulites and fundamentally compromises the role of the British government asxa0in respect toxa0the Good Friday Agreement.
“More recently, the refusal of Downing Street to respect the democraticxa0rights of the majority of people in the north who voted to remain in Europe is both undemocratic and unacceptable.xa0Theresa May’sxa0blind commitment toxa0Brexit is reckless and would be disastrous for all of us here in Ireland.
“Today, Sinn Feinxa0made it abundantly clear that any sort of Brexit is bad for the North of Ireland.
“For local people to have any hope of a bright and successful future we need special status within the European Union.”
