Secretary of State Hilary Benn has welcomed First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s stated intention to attend a Remembrance Sunday event in Belfast.Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly offered no comment on the move – which will be the first time a senior Sinn Fein figure will attend such an event in Northern Ireland – saying the focus should be on Remembrance Sunday.

Stormont’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill is to participate in the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Belfast City Hall – the first time a senior Sinn Féin figure will take part in such an event in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill is to become the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Belfast. Several Sinn Féin politicians have laid wreaths at the Cenotaph in Belfast in previous years, but they have not attended the main Sunday ceremony.

O’Neill, who will lay a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph in Belfast in her role as First Minister, will attend with DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly.