Sinn Fein MLA Martin McGuinness tells Secretary of State: ‘Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!’
SINN Fein chief Martin McGuinness has been involved in heated exchanges with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers over sweeping welfare reforms.
The bust up came hours after it was revealed that there are 2.3 million children in the North, England, Wales and Scotland who are living in poverty.
The poverty threshold is set at around £270 per week for an adult – which is 60 per cent below the average wage.
Child Poverty Action Group said this number is set to rise over the coming years when the Tory government introduced swinging cuts of £12 billion to the welfare budget.
Mr McGuinness quote the child poverty figures to Theresa Villiers and said: “Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!”
Discussions were being held at Stormont House between Ms Villiers, Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan and the five executive parties – Sinn Fein, DUP, UUP, SDLP and the Alliance.
After the talks, Ms Villiers said the prospects for a resolution on the welfare reform impasse were looking “increasingly bleak”.
“Regrettably, today’s meeting took us no further forward,” she said
“Time is running out. Implementation of the Stormont House Agreement is the only way to avert a major crisis.
“The credibility and the future viability of the devolved institutions is now at stake. The choice rests with Northern Ireland’s political leaders.”
UUP leader Mike Nesbitt described the meeting as “depressing” and said the deadlock would not be broken until Chancellor George Osborne’s emergency budget on Wednesday, July 8.
A deal on changes to welfare was struck during December’s Stormont House Agreement.
But since then, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party have opposed the plans to implement the reforms.
They have argued that the measures will hit the most vulnerable members of society.
But supporters of the plan have warned that failure to change the benefits system will mean the executive cannot manage its budget, putting the future of the devolved government at risk.
It is believed Martin McGuinness is prepared to resign as deputy first minister and call a snap Assembly election if the parties try to force through welfare reforms.
He has long argued that the cuts would hurt the worst off and most disadvantaged in society.
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