Westminster needs to stop interfering in Northern Ireland's abortion laws. That's the message from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children as it prepares to launch a legal challenge against new regulations in Belfast today.
The Government in London introduced new legislation during a Stormont impasse in 2019. The anti-abortion group previously failed to have the laws overturned - but is appealing that decision today.
Liam Gibson, the society's legal and policy officer, doesn't believe Westminster has a right to intervene - even if the Stormont Executive has collapsed. "To say the Secretary of State is stepping in because there is a vacuum is simply not true.
"This is what he was planning before the collapse. Anyone who suggest this has to be done because there is no Executive there is just being disingenuous," he added.
