Latest releases
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2,562 releases
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Prime Minister challenged on ensuring religious freedom
DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP challenges the Prime Minister in the Commons to review UK laws so that religious freedom is protected, after Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for silent prayer near a Birmingham abortion facility.
Disability and equality Justice and policing Issue: Isabel Vaughan-Spruce arrest and charge under Birmingham buffer zone Original release: Prime Minister challenged on ensuring religious freedom (opens in a new tab)
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Government should reconsider and withdraw Legacy Bill: Dodds
DUP peer Lord Dodds urges the Government to reconsider its support for the Legacy Bill and withdraw it, as the House of Lords again debated the legislation. He says victims oppose the bill and that it narrows the route to justice for terrorist crimes.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Westminster Legacy Bill progress to House of Lords Original release: Government should reconsider and withdraw Legacy Bill: Dodds (opens in a new tab)
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Finucane calls for British government to stop callous Legacy Bill
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane urges the British Government to halt the Legacy Bill before its Lords stage, arguing it blocks truth and justice for victims, and calls for an urgent summit with both governments and parties.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Westminster Legacy Bill progress to House of Lords Original release: Finucane calls for British government to stop callous Legacy Bill (opens in a new tab)
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British Government must respect Council of Europe calls on Brexit, Protocol and Human Rights – Senator Paul Gavan
Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan calls on the British Government to respect a Council of Europe PACE report on Brexit's impact on human rights in Ireland, including its criticism of the Protocol and the Legacy Bill. He urges shelving the Bill and an immediate halt to unilateral action.
Constitutional affairs International affairs Issue: PACE report on Brexit's impact on human rights in Ireland Original release: British Government must respect Council of Europe calls on Brexit, Protocol and Human Rights – Senator Paul Gavan (opens in a new tab)
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Renewed focus needed to resolve Legacy issues - Elliott
UUP MLA Tom Elliott says legacy issues need renewed focus and warns against reviving the Stormont House Agreement, citing its parallel police force and its handling of injury cases. He calls for a human rights-based approach and for the Republic of Ireland's role in the Troubles to be acknowledged.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Original release: Renewed focus needed to resolve Legacy issues - Elliott (opens in a new tab)
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Heaton-Harris must spell out what if anything he has done to restore Executive – Murphy
Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy urges Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to listen to senior US figures before his US visit, calling for the Legacy Bill to be scrapped and for work with the EU on Protocol solutions. He also demands clarity on what steps he has taken to restore the Executive.
Constitutional affairs International affairs Issue: Heaton-Harris visit to the US ahead of Executive restoration Original release: Heaton-Harris must spell out what if anything he has done to restore Executive – Murphy (opens in a new tab)
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Alliance proposal to cut £500k from rates increase fails
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland says its proposal to cut £500,000 from the Belfast City Council rates increase and create a new bonfire support package was rejected by SF, DUP, SDLP and PBP, arguing the cut would lower the rise from 7.99% to 7.7% and criticizing spending on DJs.
Public finance and taxation Local government Issue: Belfast City Council rates increase proposal defeat Original release: Alliance proposal to cut £500k from rates increase fails (opens in a new tab)
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Paul Maskey extends condolences to the family of plastic bullet campaigner Jim McCabe
Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey sends sympathy to the children, grandchildren and wider family of Jim McCabe, who has died, recalling his decades-long campaign against plastic bullets after his wife Nora was killed by one in 1981.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Original release: Paul Maskey extends condolences to the family of plastic bullet campaigner Jim McCabe (opens in a new tab)
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Significant US Congress opposition to Legacy Bill welcomed – Dillon
Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon welcomes opposition from US Congress members to the British Government's Legacy Bill, which she says would deny truth and justice to victims. She calls urgently for a Legacy Summit including the British and Irish governments and local parties, and for the Bill's passage…
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: US Congress letter opposing British Government's Legacy Bill Original release: Significant US Congress opposition to Legacy Bill welcomed – Dillon (opens in a new tab)
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Proposals for £110m funding cut from EA budget “unconscionable” – Butler
UUP Deputy Leader Robbie Butler, who speaks on education for the party, condemns proposed £110m cuts to Department of Education services as unconscionable. He warns they would hit vulnerable children and non-statutory services, and calls on the Secretary of State to reverse the cuts while Stormont…
Education Public finance and taxation Issue: Proposed £110m Department of Education budget cuts Original release: Proposals for £110m funding cut from EA budget “unconscionable” – Butler (opens in a new tab)
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Nicholl marks Chinese New Year
South Belfast MLA and Chair of the All Party Group on Ethnic Minority Communities Kate Nicholl wishes people a happy Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Rabbit and praising Belfast's Chinese community. She calls for joint working between government and stakeholders to secure racial equality…
Disability and equality Original release: Nicholl marks Chinese New Year (opens in a new tab)
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McDonald calls for legacy summit in letter to the Irish and British governments
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald writes to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging an urgent summit on legacy issues and asks the British government to halt its legacy bill, saying it would deny victims truth and justice.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Ben Wallace remarks on legacy bill and legacy inquests Original release: McDonald calls for legacy summit in letter to the Irish and British governments (opens in a new tab)
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Wallace comments ‘insulting and disrespectful’ to victims – Kelly
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly condemns remarks by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on the legacy bill as insulting to victims' families and calls on the British government to halt the legislation, which he says would deny victims access to courts, coroners and civil cases.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Ben Wallace remarks on legacy bill and legacy inquests Original release: Wallace comments ‘insulting and disrespectful’ to victims – Kelly (opens in a new tab)
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Gerard Herdman Selected To Contest the Black Mountain DEA in West Belfast for Aontú
Aontú has selected Gerard Herdman, a West Belfast plumbing tutor, as its candidate for the Black Mountain district electoral area ahead of the upcoming local elections. Herdman says the Stormont parties have left West Belfast behind and calls for MLAs to lose salaries if they fail to work, and for…
Economy and employment Housing Issue: Aontú selects Gerard Herdman as Black Mountain local election candidate Original release: Gerard Herdman Selected To Contest the Black Mountain DEA in West Belfast for Aontú (opens in a new tab)
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Cllr Rachel Woods slams recent domestic abuse statistics
Green Party councillor Rachel Woods reacts to PSNI figures showing a rise in domestic abuse calls over Christmas, with 3,604 calls logged and a 10% increase on Christmas Day. She calls for Northern Ireland to adopt a Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, noting it is the sole UK region…
Justice and policing Disability and equality Issue: PSNI figures on domestic abuse calls over Christmas 2022 Original release: Cllr Rachel Woods slams recent domestic abuse statistics (opens in a new tab)
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Smyth welcomes Westminster intervention to block Nicola Sturgeon’s Gender Reform Bill
TUV spokesperson Lorna Smyth welcomes the UK Government's plan to lay a Section 35 order blocking Scotland's Gender Reform Bill, arguing it protects women and girls and accusing Alliance's Stephen Farry and Eóin Tennyson of hypocrisy.
Disability and equality Constitutional affairs Issue: Section 35 order to block Scotland's Gender Reform Bill Original release: Smyth welcomes Westminster intervention to block Nicola Sturgeon’s Gender Reform Bill (opens in a new tab)
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Retained EU Law Bill threatens gender equality in the workplace, says Nicholl
Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl says the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, due at its remaining Commons stages, threatens workplace protections such as holiday pay, maternity leave and equal pay, and risks women's rights. She says the party will oppose it.
Disability and equality Economy and employment Issue: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Commons stages Original release: Retained EU Law Bill threatens gender equality in the workplace, says Nicholl (opens in a new tab)
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Aontú will name British Soldiers who Murdered on Bloody Sunday if Tory Legacy Bill is Passed
Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín warns his party would name alleged British soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday killings in the Dáil if the Westminster Troubles legacy Bill becomes law. He says the Bill grants an amnesty to British forces and denies families truth and justice.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Westminster Troubles legacy Bill passage through the House of Lords Original release: Aontú will name British Soldiers who Murdered on Bloody Sunday if Tory Legacy Bill is Passed (opens in a new tab)
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Nicholl marks Martin Luther King Day and says his fight against racial inequality is still just as relevant today
Alliance Spokesperson for Migration Kate Nicholl MLA marks Martin Luther King Day, saying his fight against racial inequality remains as relevant today. She cites the 2022 killing of Keenan Anderson by Los Angeles police and says Black communities face violence from both police and white…
Disability and equality Justice and policing Original release: Nicholl marks Martin Luther King Day and says his fight against racial inequality is still just as relevant today (opens in a new tab)
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Tories should scrap ‘cruel and callous’ legacy bill – Gerry Kelly
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly calls on the British Government to scrap the Legacy Bill, which he says would close down truth and justice and place British state forces above the law. He welcomes a commitment from the British Opposition leader to repeal it.
Community relations and legacy Justice and policing Issue: Legacy Bill commitment by British Labour leader in Belfast Original release: Tories should scrap ‘cruel and callous’ legacy bill – Gerry Kelly (opens in a new tab)