O'Neill Says DUP Blocked Her From Glasgow Summit

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill stated on Thursday that she has been blocked from attending the Economic Forum in Glasgow. She said Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly stopped her from traveling to the event.

O’Neill was scheduled to join British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Scottish First Minister John Swinney, and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth in a side meeting. The leaders also planned to hold a private discussion on the Stormont budget.

With the forum taking place on Friday, O’Neill said the decision to keep her in Belfast means residents of the north will not have a voice at the table. She described the move as a reactive stunt driven by internal pressures within the Democratic Unionist Party.

The political dispute intensified as the DUP’s central council met to determine the party’s next steps. Senior party figures remain divided on how to handle the police investigation into Sinn Féin members who participated in a protest in Portadown last month.

O’Neill, who is Sinn Féin’s vice-president, posted a statement on X to explain the situation. She said the DUP finds it difficult to accept that a nationalist holds the office of First Minister. She maintained that the public, not the DUP, decides who represents them.

She confirmed she has contacted the British Secretary of State to clarify her position. O’Neill stated she will continue to protect peace and progress while representing all people in the region.

The dispute over O’Neill’s attendance follows a two-week standoff on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown. Protesters gathered there to block an Orange Order parade that the Parades Commission had approved for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The parade did not take place due to the large number of protesters. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant subsequently overturned the commission’s decision and banned the procession. A High Court judge upheld that ban on Wednesday.

Police are investigating the unnotified protest that occurred on September 27. Officers have sent interview invitations to individuals they reasonably suspect of committing offenses. O’Neill attended a police station for an interview last week.

Sinn Féin TDs Pearse Doherty and Matt Carthy attended voluntary interviews in Belfast on Thursday. Doherty said the party is proud to have stood with the local community and defended 28 years of peace. He argued that supporting the peace process was the right action to take.