SINN Féin’s Martin McGuinness is set to have talks with David Cameron later today.
He will warn the British Prime Minister not to suspend the power-sharing institutions at Stormont.
“Yesterday, I made it clear to the Secretary of State Theresa Villiers that any attempt by the British Government to suspend the institutions in response to unionist demands would be a very grave mistake,” said the Derry politician.
“I will be repeating that message directly to David Cameron because his government needs to understand that if they step in to suspend these institutions, they will be fundamentally undermining the Good Friday Agreement and effectively returning us to Direct Rule for the foreseeable future.
“Equally, we will not be co-operating in any way with the notion of self-suspension by the Assembly. That is not the way to resolve the current difficulties we are facing.
“What is required now is leadership and I am prepared to give that leadership. I expect the same commitment from David Cameron and from An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Peter Robinson, Mike Nesbitt, Alasdair McDonnell and David Ford.”
The Deputy First Minister also insisted that Sinn Féin’s mandate must be respected: “Sinn Féin will robustly resist any attempt to undermine the political institutions – and the mandate given to us by a whole section of our community.
“The entitlements of the many thousands of people who vote for Sinn Féin must be respected and I take great exception to any attempt to undermine my party’s commitment to peace or to disregard the rights of those who vote for us.”