Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has made history today as he addressed a meeting at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham.
He is the first Sinn Féin representative to do so.
Mr McGuinness spoke at the Tory Fringe, which focuses on key issues on the UK government’s policy-making agenda, where he discussed the Northern Ireland budget.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said he was not expecting any negative reaction to his presence at the conference as he says he always gets a warm welcome in England.
He also pledged to maintain political unity with the Democratic Unionist Party in the face of dissident attacks and said the peace process was too strongly entrenched to be overcome.
Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said Mr McGuinness's attendance at the conference was a symbol of how far Northern Ireland had moved on.
