Sinn Féin's Leas Uachtarán and Joint Head of Government Michelle O'Neill MLA said: "We had our first engagement with new British Secretary of State Brandon Lewis to discuss a range of issues and matters of concern."

O'Neill continued: "I reminded him of the commitments made by his government in the New Decade, New Approach document and how the British government have acted in bad faith in relation to the financial commitments made in the document. In particular there are issues around legacy and the fact is we have had no detail from the British movement on the legacy legislation that it committed to bringing forward." 

O'Neill added: "We also discussed the Brexit trade negotiation proposal published by the British government today. I made it very clear to him that our priority is the need to protect the all-Ireland economy and that the protections agreed in the Irish Protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement need to be adhered to and implemented." 

O'Neill ended her remarks by sayng: "What we have had from the British government on Brexit time and time again is rhetoric and what we need to see is action and delivery which prevents a hard border and protects our economy east west and north south."