DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson says party ‘ready to fight’ election after talks with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris

Mr Heaton-Harris held discussions with Stormont leaders yesterday as a deadline for calling another election approaches.

The NI secretary has repeatedly warned that he will call a Stormont poll if tomorrow’s deadline passes without a devolved executive being formed.

But Sir Jeffrey told reporters in London there was “still some way to go” in solving the problems over the Northern Ireland Protocol, following his phone conversation with Mr Heaton-Harris.

He said: “I think the secretary of state is of a mind to call an election, that is a matter for the government, frankly I don’t think it helps us to get any quicker towards the solution that we need or to get the political institutions back up and running and fully functioning again.

“We need to clear away the debris of the protocol, that needs to be our focus, we need to get agreement on arrangements that respect Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom and that allow for continuing cross-border trade where that is required, and I don’t see how an election helps us to get there.

“But, to be clear, we’re ready to fight in that election, I’ve just been signing off on our election literature, we’re ready to go.

“If the secretary of state decides to call the election I’m not afraid to take my case to the people.”

Sir Jeffrey reiterated that stance in a statement issued through his party’s press office following the talks.

In it, the DUP leader said: “Whatever changes an election might bring, it won’t change the fundamental need for cross-community consent. No unionist elected to the assembly in May supports the protocol and there is no-one who credibly believes that will change should there be an election in December.”

He continued: “Progress can be secured through either negotiation or legislation, but the destination is what’s important. That destination is to meet the government’s own NDNA [New Decade, New Approach] commitment to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom internal market. The problem is clear and the solution has been outlined.

“The local political parties are not at the table to negotiate with the EU or the Cabinet table to deliver the legislation. That task lies with the secretary of state and the government in which he serves.”

Mr Heaton-Harris, who was reappointed in his role by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, repeated yesterday his warning over another election, indicating that the change at No 10 has not altered the government’s position on the issue.

Asked about the prospect of an election, the prime minister’s official spokesman said yesterday: “That position remains that that will be triggered on the 28th. The exact date for the election will have to be set out subsequently.”

A 24-month legislative timeframe to form an administration expires just after midnight early on Friday.

If no ministerial executive is in place by then, the UK government assumes a legal responsibility to call another election.

The DUP has refused to engage with the devolved institutions in Belfast in the wake of May’s assembly election, meaning it has not been possible to form an executive.

The party’s boycott is part of a campaign of opposition to the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol and the DUP says it will not return to power-sharing until decisive action is taken to remove the protocol’s economic barriers on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The government has vowed to secure changes to the protocol, either by a negotiated compromise with the EU or through proposed domestic legislation – the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill – which would empower ministers to scrap the arrangements without the approval of Brussels.

The European Commission has warned that such unilateral action at Westminster would be in breach of international law and could prompt retaliatory action.

Talks with the EU resumed recently, with both London and Brussels talking up the potential of reaching an agreed solution but no breakthroughs are expected ahead of the election deadline on Friday.