i think we can assume they‘ re foster or nigel dodds. inside. we can assume they've gone out the back way otherwise that would be a turn upfor back way otherwise that would be a turn up for the books. yeah, she's going off. we are working on that assumption. going off to paris and have a meeting tonight. she's off to do that. we are left not knowing quite what the status is of these talks. that in itself is interesting because we had been led to believe from the get—go that arlene foster would be emerging from there, the micro phones were ready and she would have something to say. well, that creates a world of speculation. it certainly does, which is what we do, of course. it suggests maybe things haven't been finalised, we will have to wait and see. talking to colleagues in northern ireland they were saying there is no reason obviously why arlene foster couldn't come back, there is stuff in the diary for her later in the week. 0nce theresa may is back from france there is no reason why the talks couldn't go on. we should explain, that t

then nigel dodds appeared in the house of commonsjust there nigel dodds appeared in the house of commonsor the spea ker‘s re—election. commons just there a few minutes ago for the speaker's re—election. but arlene foster, the dup leader, who went in through the front door of downing street with nigel dodds, has tweeted that the talks are basically making good progress and they hope to bring them to a successful conclusion soon and sources have been telling us that they do expect a deal to be done tomorrow or perhaps thursday. so perhaps final detailsjust being ironed out. anybody who has covered many negotiationsle, certainly here involving the dup over years, have known sometimes it comes down to detail and when we are expecting an agreement things get pushed back a little more. but there was never really a ny little more. but there was never really any doubt a deal would be done between the dup and the conservative party. the alternative for the dup would have been potentiallyjeremy corbyn in downing street and the dup have always been very, very critical ofjeremy corbyn's leadership o

arlene foster and nigel dodds of the dup went into number ten one hour ago. for this meeting. they could emerge at any point from here on in. we think they will have something to say to they will have something to say to the many journalists they will have something to say to the manyjournalists waiting here. we will wait and see. certainly a deal needs to be done as far as theresa may is concerned. she does not have an overall majority in the light of last week's general election. she needs those dup votes to have any kind a working majority, in terms of the queen ‘s speech, which we believe is still next week, and the brexit negotiations, as well. in the last half an hour the former conservative leader sirjohn major has been speaking on bbc radio devon is the such a key architect of course on the talks around the northern ireland peace process. —— on radio. such a key... he has been expressing a good deal of wariness about any potential deal that might be done here in downing street behind me. let's listen to what some of sirjohn major has said.|j behind me

arlene foster and nigel dodds arrived here to speak to theresa may, and they were inside for some timetalks. the bbc understands there are no issues outstanding from the negotiations — and that a deal has been largely agreed. we hear that considerable progress has been made. we have also heard that arlene foster, the leader, is prepared to stay in london tonight. some suggestion that those talks may be continuing. we will have more from all our correspondence in a moment. but first this assessment of where we are, from chris mason. the sun is shining from northern ireland ‘s democratic unionist party. just ten mps and their leader, who now wield huge power. big smiles. look how excited they are. future is bright. arlene foster arrived in downing street to meet with the prime minister. are you ready to drive a hard bargain? what's your price? what price to keep mrs may in power? a few hours later there was still no deal, as theresa may swaps downing street for the commons. mr speaker elect, on behalf of the whole house may i congratulate you on your reelection — at least someone got a l

business-like and constructive is how nigel dodds discussed the talks with the conservatives.called them. you have got talks to restore power sharing in northern ireland going on at the same time as the talks to try to keep theresa may's majority working here at westminster. james brokenshire said as far as the stormont talks are concerned, that is final and immovable and he said the reintroduction of direct rule from westminster is on the cards if that does not happen. two twin tracks of discussion there, both crucial to the next few days here in the uk. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon says she believes the idea ofa sturgeon says she believes the idea of a hard brexit is now deed in the water. she's in westminster due to meet the prime minister later along with the conservative leader of scotland, ruth davidson. the approach that the government was taking to hard brexit i think is deadin taking to hard brexit i think is dead in the water and cannot stand. i'm calling today for a process that is opened up to include more voices, all parties and all four nations of t

as soon as arlene foster and nigel dodds emerge we will have more from them.s keys whatever happens in london will stop all roads lead back to stormont. ——. all roads lead back to stormont. ——. all roads lead back to stormont. it is clear the plaid cymru are against brexit. —— the guinea are against brexit. the unionists —— the dup. we are here to meet with the different parties today and put our side of the story. we are clear that we want an anti——— special designated status in the eu. the government consistently, not only in relation to yourselves, but in general today are saying brexit is being negotiated on behalf of the uk as is being negotiated on behalf of the ukasa is being negotiated on behalf of the uk as a whole, it has to work for everybody and suit everybody. it has two not harm the economy, that is a crucial part of that. do you have any confident that is the stance being taken here? i do not. it is quite clear that the majority of the people in the north of ireland wa nted people in the north of ireland wanted to remain in europe. i think thati

nigel dodds, the parliamentary leader, is a very seasoned negotiator, a tough one, extremely able.an paisleyjunior, a very bright and effective mp and representative of the dup. arlene foster, the leader, has been badly damaged over the past year by her handling of this renewable heating crisis. this precipitated the fall of the assembly. but nevertheless she is an able figure as well. they are tough negotiators, and they will demand a high price for this, because it is not compensated for them. that's like, located. getting rid of the unpopular pension proposals that theresa may had in her manifesto, that kind of thing, good luck to them. in another respect there could be a positive outcome because they are not in favour of a hard brexit. they were in favour of leaving the european union, alone amongst the parties of northern ireland, and northern ireland voted remain, but they are in favour of ireland voted remain, but they are infavourofan ireland voted remain, but they are in favour of an open border. it has no o bsta cles in favour of an open border. it has no obstacles and no

the dup's leader at westminster, nigel dodds, was anxious to explain that the £1 billion of public spendingch as mental health. isn't it time people recognised this is delivering for people all across northern ireland, all sections of the community, and it will help some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in northern ireland? and people should get behind it and welcome it. he makes a very important point on this. it is the case, as we said in the agreement, that we recognise the particular circumstances of northern ireland that have arisen as the result of northern ireland's history, and as he says, there will be mental—health issues that arise as a result of that. earlier, the northern ireland secretary was questioned about what some see as conflict of interest. we are in a odd position where each dup mp is worth more than ronaldo. laughter does the secretary of state agree that it is now impossible for the uk government to be evenhanded in northern ireland? no, i don't. james brokenshire. a deal between the conservatives and the dup, which will see an extra £1 billion go to n

nigel dodd. >> may i begin by congratulating you, sir, on your re-election and i wish you very, very well indeed for the post you now reoccupy. you have always been very, very very -- that those who are the smaller parties, regional parties and those with little nuisance in the house have that their voice heard, and i hope that in future, while some things may have changed, it is good that you remain in clear that some things have not changed. we look forward to this parliament and i want to commiserate well of those members on owl sides of the house who have failed to be reelected or who have left us, and congratulate all members of all parties who have joined us. i want to particularly pay tribute to those members from northern ire learned and -- more northern ireland and thank them for their service and we bear heavy responsibility in the house along with the independent member as the only representatives from northern ireland and we intend to carry out that responsibility very carefully indeed. we hope, of course, for the restoration as soon as possible of our locally devolved as

particularly want to acknowledge and pay tribute to the two men standing beside me, the right honourable nigel doddson mp for their efforts. i want to thank other party collea g u es efforts. i want to thank other party colleagues and, indeed, our parliamentary party, who will be to the fore in working with these new arrangements. today, we have reached an outcome that is good for the united kingdom, good for northern ireland and allows our nation to move forward to tackle the challenges ahead. this afternoon, i will be returning to northern ireland to continue our discussions as we attempt to re—establish the northern ireland executive, because now, more than ever, our political leaders, both locally and nationally, need to work together to find solutions for all of the people we serve. thank you very much. that was the dup leadership in downing street. one of the concerns over the deal was how it would impact on the powys sharing agreement in northern ireland —— power—sharing. before —— the former northern ireland secretary theresa villiers said she did not think the confidence and supply arrangem

nigel dodds might partymy answer is to scapegoat the most marginalised and vulnerable communities. ——le communities. but now the only answer is to scapegoat the most marginalised, vulnerable communities. no, no, no. at the conservative campaign failed to address that? i think you're being too binary about this. there are very important issues about what they call a social decency of life, and then the issues with britain intends the sovereign state. they've come together precisely because the labour party manifesto did make a difference. jeremy corbyn said and the labour party said that the kind of brexit to which we are hurtling is not the one endorsed by the labour party. so i'm saying that those who were worried about theresa may's endless mantra, brexit is brexit, are exactly those worried about what is our fate going to be? what is social care to be like? what is our health, or the future for us in terms of the issues of our daily life if we simply mechanically moved towards a hard brexit? jeremy corbyn did also make clear that leaving the european union would mean the ending of

to acknowledge and pay tribute through the two men standing beside me, the right honour of all nigel doddsmp, for their efforts. i want to thank other party colleagues andindeed want to thank other party colleagues and indeed our parliamentary party, who will be to the fore in working with these new arrangements. today, we have reached an outcome that is good for the united kingdom, good for northern ireland and allows our nation to move forward to tackle the challenges ahead. this afternoon, i will be returning to northern ireland to continue our discussions as we attempt to re—establish the northern ireland executive because now, more than ever, our political leaders both locally and nationally need to work together to find solutions for all of the people we serve. thank you very much. so, there they go, the leaders of the democratic unionist party, not taking questions, having finished and concluded a deal with the conservative party. they returned to their cars. this is the statement we got from arlene foster in the last couple of minutes, just to pull out some key elements from that,

there was an interesting intervention by nigel dodds, the dup leader at westminster.d then scotched the suggestion the dup is interested in a so—called soft brexit. he said out of the single market, out of the customs union, and that she was ultimately why the prime minister may be keen to secure a deal with the dup because downing street this afternoon was arguing that any deal that commands a majority in the house of commons will trigger the so—called salisbury convention, and we thought that had just applied to manifestos, which means in the house of lords they will see it must fall into line. if there is a deal with the dup and the queen's speech is passed and they say to the lords, don't try to interfere... so the deal means the house of lords, you think, well, the government thinks the house of lords cannot oppose it? that is the government's interpretation of the salisbury convention. which says they cannot oppose things in the manifesto... yes, but governement lawyers are saying basically if the deal is agreed and the queen's speech, that would apply. but they

re-elected dup member of parliament nigel dodds told reporters his party could strike a deal if northern ireland is granted special status as a halfway eu member. we also had arlene philips talking about the position of the dup and whether they would be willing to work with theresa may, remaining as prime minister. villa is in downing street for us. carolyn is labour headquarters. what is your read on the dup positioning here? they want half membership, they no doubt will want some special deals with the uk government for their support. but apparently theresa may remaining as prime minister is not a part of that deal. >> no, arlene foster saying it would be difficult for theresa may to survive given her poor performance, that could just be a very aggressive negotiating tactic coming up to what i imagine would be a weekend of discussions between the dup and the conservatives about forming this minority government. interestingly, if you look at the tory records, since 1992, that last victory under john major, 25 years they had two years with a very slim majority in charge, apart from that,

the last person to come out was the deputy leader of the dup nigel dodds.ring executive even though there was no formal deal to keep this government in power in westminster. he was absolutely clear that he thought particularly the timing of the queen's speech next week didn't impact what his party we re week didn't impact what his party were trying to do. i'm not going to get into timelines and deadlines which can be counter—productive. there is no deadline as such. the fa ct there is no deadline as such. the fact that the queen's speech date has been set suggests that the tories think this is a done deal with the dup. they are not saying that and we are not saying that. it is quite proper that the date for the queen's speech should be set. that is separate from the discussions that we are having now. there is a deadline to get this power—sharing executive up and running, the 29th ofjune. two weeks from today. the tone that you got from today. the tone that you got from the parties this afternoon is that they are not going to go towards a deal until they se

nigel dodd. >> may i begin by congratulating you on your reelection and i wish you very, very well indeed for the post you now reoccupy. you've always been very, very assiduous in his reign that those with smaller parties, regional parties, and little influence have had their voice heard. can i also say that i wish, hope that in future why something may have changed that it is good that you remain in place. we look forward to this parliament and i want to commiserate with all those members on all sides of the house who has failed to be reelected or left us and congratulate all members of all parties who have joined us. i want to particularly pay tribute to those northern island, from other parties have not been reelected. i want to thank them for their service and we bear a have a responsibility along with the independent member as the representative from northern island and we intend to carry out that responsibility. very carefully, indeed. we hope of course for the restoration, as soon as possible, as our locally devolved assembly and executive in northern island where everyone can play