Northern Ireland parties to hold fresh talks on restoring Stormont by January

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, has warned Sinn Fein that it can no longer "hold Northern Ireland to ransom” by blocking attempts to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly, as fresh talks on power sharing begin on Monday.

It is hoped that the two parties will finally find some common ground and begin the process of returning to Stormont after three years of political paralysis.

However, in a sign that there is still ill-feeling between both sides, Ms Foster claimed that Sinn Fein was to blame for the deadlock in a statement on Sunday evening.

“Central to the Talks must be the sustainability of the institutions so never again can one party hold the rest of Northern Ireland to ransom,” she said.

“Sinn Fein has barred everyone from Government for three years despite other parties willing to take their seats.”

It comes after Northern Ireland's nationalist parties won a historic majority in Thursday's general election, which has emboldened calls by Sinn Fein for a border poll.

Stormont has stood vacant for more than 1,000 days due to a stand-off between Sinn Fein and the DUP on issues such as Irish language legislation and a ban on same-sex marriage.

Public opinion over the stalemate has had a detrimental effect on the two major parties and this has been reflected in recent elections.

Julian Smith, who will continue as Northern Ireland secretary in Boris Johnson’s new Government, said he spoke with the leaders of all five parties in the province on Sunday morning.

He tweeted: “Good calls with all five party leaders this morning. Look forward to starting positive process tomorrow to get Stormont back up and running."

Mr Smith has also warned that unless an agreement on power sharing is reached by January 13, fresh assembly elections will be triggered.

In a statement on Sunday evening Michelle O’Neill, the vice president of Sinn Fein, said she “wants to see the political institutions restored on a credible and sustainable basis.”.