DUP blocks First Minister Michelle O'Neill from economic summit over Drumcree row

Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill has been blocked by the DUP from attending an economic summit involving Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Sinn Féin vice-president and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly were both invited to attend the National Economic Council in Glasgow on Friday alongside other devolved leaders. The prime minister revived the council over the summer to encourage greater collaboration between the nations and regions. DUP leader Gavin Robinson confirmed that Little-Pengelly will not participate in joint engagements with O'Neill and that permission will not be granted for the first minister to operate on a solo basis. Speaking in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings, flanked by DUP assembly members, Robinson said the first minister's "arrogance will have consequences". "Her complaints today that she's frustrated from engaging with the British Prime Minister within the sovereign United Kingdom will so be it because her law breaking must have consequences," Robinson said. The move follows unionist anger over Sinn Féin's involvement in protests which prevented a contentious Orange Order march in Portadown from passing along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road. O'Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures have been interviewed by police investigating last month's unnotified demonstrations, with unionists accusing the party of acting unlawfully. The Sinn Féin deputy leader has defended her involvement, saying it was the "right thing to do". Last week, a court heard Police Service of Northern Ireland intelligence information that dissidents may have mounted gun attacks on police had officers cleared a path for the parade. O'Neill described the DUP's move as "reckless and irresponsible" and said it meant people in Northern Ireland "will not be represented". In a statement posted online, she called it "a reactive stunt, driven by the DUP's own internal pressures and electoral problems". She also described Robinson's comments as "arrogant and supremacist", adding that the DUP "is consumed with their own internal leadership troubles and divisions". She said she would be at the Assembly on Monday with her party colleagues to "keep showing up every day for people". Little-Pengelly said earlier that the concerns arising from O'Neill's conduct, and the "anger and hurt felt by many people across Northern Ireland, cannot simply be ignored or minimised". She said the decision comes after stopping a separate planned engagement with the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly. "I have requested a separate meeting with the Prime Minister to ensure Northern Ireland's interests, including the urgent budgetary and funding challenges facing the Executive, continue to be represented directly," she added. The Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant said it was "deeply frustrating" that the Northern Ireland executive would not be represented at the National Economic Council. "I understand feelings are running high but it must be in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland that everyone gets round the table," he said. Other party leaders also criticised the move. Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said "the DUP's sham response today was beyond pathetic", adding "the DUP is interested only in clinging to office, not principle". Alliance leader Naomi Long said refusing to attend or preventing others from attending the meeting with the prime minister was reckless and put party interests ahead of Northern Ireland's economic future and the needs of the public. Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows called the situation a "political fudge" that was "all choreography and no consequences", saying it would "probably galvanise Sinn Féin further at the ballot box". The SDLP's Matthew O'Toole said "plunging this place into more political chaos is not a sensible strategic move for unionism", adding that it would lead reasonable people to conclude the largest unionist party "simply doesn't want to make the status quo work". The DUP has been under pressure from unionist rivals and some within its own ranks over its response to the Drumcree dispute. Last week, DUP MP Carla Lockhart stepped down from the party's officer board over Robinson not withdrawing Little-Pengelly to force O'Neill from their joint Stormont office. On Thursday, Lockhart said she will follow her "own course" if the party does not seek to remove O'Neill as first minister. Other DUP representatives, including assembly member Diane Forsythe, have backed her calls, and on Wednesday a second assembly member, Maurice Bradley, called for O'Neill to go, saying it "would not, in itself, require the Assembly to collapse". Former MP Lord McCrea and Mid Ulster councillor Clement Cuthbertson have also backed Lockhart. Robinson said last week he was "sorry" to see Lockhart quit the officer board but that she remained "a key part of our team". Speaking on the BBC's The View programme, Robinson said the party had reached a democratic decision on how to deal with the Drumcree fallout, saying O'Neill and her colleagues "should be punished, that does not include punishing the rest of Northern Ireland". He questioned whether it was necessary to "punish everyone in Northern Ireland when actually we should be punishing those who broke the law", and added: "We have considered all options and we keep all options on the table."