McCann calls for fresh elections after Foster walkout

“It is clear that the Executive is in limbo and the Assembly is in procedural lala land,” he said.

“The only move that now makes sense is to call fresh elections. The Executive has lost the confidence of the electorate and people are outraged. The people of the North should now have the chance to register this disgust at the ballot box,” he said.

Mr McCann also said that the Justice Minister Claire Sugden should “think hard” about whether she can continue to prop up an Executive.

“Since this issue first splurged out into public view, we have called on Foster to resign and for an independent public enquiry.

“There cannot be one law for ministers and another law for everyone else,” he said.

Mr McCann said an election now would afford the electorate the chance to move away from orange-green politics.

“It’s not just Arlene Foster and the DUP whose credentials must be judged by the people. It is the whole set up based on striking a balance between orange and green.

“The fact that our political system is constructed around the idea of communal identity has been a factor in allowing some politicians to believe - as is evident in this case - that they can get away with anything, so long as it doesn’t disrupt the solidity of either the orange or the green blocks.

“We appeal directly to people from working class Protestant backgrounds, who may have voted DUP in the past, to consider voting for People Before Profit instead. We stand for the working class irrespective of what community they come from.”