A change in British Secretary of State will end in failure if it is not accompanied by a change in British Government policy here, Sinn Féin’s Elisha McCallion has said.
The Foyle MP was speaking after Julian Smith was announced as the Secretary of State for the North in Boris Johnson’s cabinet.
The new British Prime Minister sacked gaffe-prone Karen Bradley on Wednesday who had insulted victims of Bloody Sunday and those who were victims of institutional abuse.
“The major problem within the NIO is the policy it implements rather than the personality that fronts it,” Elisha McCallion said.
“If Julian Smith continues to follow flawed and failed policies then he will fail like the previous incumbent and the one before that.
“Unfortunately, Julian Smith doesn’t exactly inspire confidence given that his only interest in the North to date seems to have been to attend the DUP conference.
“What we need to see is a change of approach from the British Government.
“Successive British administrations have refused to honour agreements or to resolve the issues of the past while imposing austerity and Brexit against the wishes and best interests of the people.
“Boris Johnson’s party abandoned the rigorous impartiality demanded by the Good Friday Agreement in order to enter into a self-serving pact with the DUP.
“That has proved to be a toxic partnership for our political process with the British Government acquiescing to a denial of rights and equality that would never be tolerated in their own country.
“A change in these failed policies is what is now required and it is long past time that the British Government began taking its obligations to the peace and political process in Ireland seriously.
“This requires the implementation of past agreements and an end to the DUP’s veto on rights and equality which is preventing the restoration of the power-sharing institutions,” added the former Mayor of Derry.
