Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP statement
At Parliament Buildings, the Secretary of State delivered an update regarding the political situation in Northern Ireland.
Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said:
Both parties have conducted discussions seriously and in good faith.
While substantive progress towards an agreement has been made, it appears that this phase of talks has reached a conclusion.
I would urge everyone to reflect on the circumstances which have led to this and their positions, both now and in the future.
The position of the UK Government remains the same: devolved government is in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland and is best for the Union. I believe the basis for an accommodation still exists.
As the Prime Minister said during her visit on Monday, we are ready to bring forward legislation to enable an Executive to be formed.
We will continue to work with everyone to make sure we do deliver this. We now need to consider practical steps.
In the continued absence of an Executive, other challenging decisions will have to be taken by the UK Government.
I will update Parliament when the House returns from Recess next week.