John Stewart, Ulster Unionist MLA for East Antrim, has again challenged both the DUP and Sinn Fein to set the record straight about their discussions and set out exactly what they were contemplating during their failed talks process.

John Stewart MLA said:

“If Arlene Foster really plans to stand by her assertion that ‘We were not contemplating bringing in an Irish Language Act and I could not be clearer in relation to that’ then she needs to explain exactly what she and her negotiating team were ‘contemplating’ in their marathon negotiations with Sinn Fein. Or perhaps she should talk to one of the co-authors of the draft agreement, Edwin Poots MLA, who said the following about it on the BBC`s Spotlight programme – ‘I done a lot of it so I would expect it to be good’.

“Sinn Fein seemed to think they were talking to the DUP about bringing in an Irish Language Act. The language of senior DUP figures varied from talk about an Irish Language Act, to stand-alone acts, to cultural acts. For something that they claim they weren’t contemplating they certainly spent a long time talking about it until the negotiating teams were forced into a screeching last minute U-turn.

“Given that the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland – both busy people it’s fair to say - both turned up in Belfast on February 12th, it’s a reasonable assumption that they too had been given a clear understanding that an agreement – or even an ‘accommodation’ was imminent. 

“Journalists and commentators have also been left very clearly with the impression that the DUP were more than ‘contemplating’ bringing in an Irish Language Act.

“Indeed it’s difficult to see how a talks process with Sinn Fein could have been sustained for 14 months unless the DUP was negotiating on such an Act. If the DUP version of events is to be believed, then you really have to wonder what exactly the two parties were talking about for more than a year. Or perhaps it was to be yet another broken election promise.

“Nobody will know for sure until they publish ALL the documentation in its entirety. We need to see who and what was involved. It is clear that up until now, neither the DUP nor Sinn Fein have been able to refute what has been leaked so far. They seem to want to keep their heads down and hope that it will go away. But eventually the truth will out. Perhaps they should contemplate that.”