Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA and Doug Beattie MC MLA, met the Secretary of State in Stormont House on Friday morning and raised a number of important issues.

Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:

“We had a very frank discussion with the Secretary of State in Stormont House.

“We told him that the Government should be acting on the issue of Air Passenger duty following the collapse of Flybe. My colleague Lord Empey has already suggested using short term Public Service Obligations to ensure connectivity is maintained between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. I hope that Brandon Lewis and the Government will be proactive on this. We want to see as many of the former Flybe workers back in the airline industry as soon as possible and the Government can help facilitate that.

“The co-operation across the United Kingdom to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 has worked well so far and everyone wants to see that continue. Before the first cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in Northern Ireland, Health Minister Robin Swann stated publicly that the Health Service needed £661 million to address waiting lists and maintain the service. It is now more vital than ever that the Health Service gets the investment it needs and the Government has a major role in seeing that delivered.

“We emphasised our continued opposition to the Legacy proposals contained in ‘New Decade, New Approach’ which had their origin in the Stormont House Agreement. The last thing that Northern Ireland needs is the ‘Ulsterisation’ of legacy where former police and soldiers in Northern Ireland are left high and dry whilst those in Great Britain are allowed to move on. That would be totally unacceptable.

“The Secretary of State was left in no doubt about our views.”