The Sinn Fein vice president, who is the first nationalist to hold the position of First Minister at Stormont, said the date in April 2028 would represent an “excellent time” to confirm a future poll.

In an interview with the PA news agency, Ms O’Neill said the calling of a referendum would mark the “fulfilment” of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday accord that largely ended the region’s 30-year conflict.

The Mid Ulster MLA said Sir Keir Starmer’s Government needed to “live up to the commitment that was set out in the Good Friday Agreement”.

“It was good enough for me to vote for a democratic pathway to unity through a border poll in 1998 (in the referendum to approve the agreement), well then when we celebrate 30 years of the Good Friday Agreement isn’t that an excellent time for the British

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