Bill Clinton and Theresa May hold talks on Northern Ireland deadlock

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Thursday, 19 October 2017 10:55

By Hannah Spratt

By Gavin Cordon

Theresa May has held talks with former US president Bill Clinton on the continuing political deadlock in Northern Ireland.

The meeting in Downing Street followed private discussions earlier this week between Mr Clinton and the main Northern Ireland party leaders in Belfast.

As president, Mr Clinton played a key role in helping to secure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which led to power-sharing at Stormont.

Number 10, however, has made clear that he had not been used to deliver a message on behalf of the Government to the parties.

The devolved institutions at Stormont remain suspended following the collapse of the administration in January in the wake of the resignation of the late Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.

As he left after almost an hour in No 10, Mr Clinton told reporters: "We had a wonderful talk."

Asked by reporters about the prospects for Brexit, Mr Clinton said: "We didn't talk much about that. I don't have much of a portfolio here."