Speaking outside parliament after Northern Ireland's largest pro-Britain party said it had endorsed the proposals offered by the British government to end its boycott of the regional government, Heaton-Harris said he looked forward to the restoration of Stormont "as soon as possible".

"We have been able to achieve quite a vast array of decent improvements to make sure our internal market works properly, as it should do," he told reporters on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Sarah Young)