PM on flying visit to Bombardier before crunch meeting at Stormont
Mrs May was joined on the hill by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Last updated 12th Feb 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Northern Ireland this morning to begin crunch talks with politicians who are believed to be closing in on a deal to restore Stormont.
Mrs May was joined by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Secretary of State Karen Bradley at Stormont House.
It is understood the DUP and Sinn Fein are not quite there yet with an agreement - but that it is possible by the end of the week.
Earlier, the PM met aircraft workers at Bombardier’s Belfast factory in the wake of the company’s trade battle victory in the US.
She toured the plant floor where the wings of the Canadian manufacturer's C Series jets are built.
Bombardier's bitter trade dispute with Boeing had threatened jobs at the Belfast plant after the United States trade authorities sided with the US company and proposed a 292% tariff on the import of its rival's planes into the country.
There was a huge sigh of relief in Belfast when that decision was overturned by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington DC last month.
One thousand of the 4,000 strong workforce at the Belfast factory work on the C Series production line.
Mrs May chatted with some of them as she was shown the assembled wings at close quarters.
She also met with senior company executives.
The ITC ruled that Boeing did not suffer injury from an order of C Series jets placed by Atlanta-based Delta Airlines.
The Prime Minister directly lobbied President Donald Trump on a number of occasions during the trade row.