Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly blocked representation from the region at an economic forum in Glasgow on Friday, according to the Irish Examiner².

O'Neill said the gathering would have included meetings with the first ministers of Scotland and Wales and the British prime minister². The Press Association, cited by the Examiner, said those leaders had been due to take part in a side meeting and that O'Neill and Little-Pengelly were set to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham about the Stormont budget².

In a post on X reported by the Examiner, O'Neill called the decision a "reactive stunt, driven by the DUP’s own internal pressures and electoral problems"². She said Little-Pengelly's approach meant people in Northern Ireland would not be represented and that she had contacted the British secretary of state².

The claim landed as Democratic Unionist Party officers met Thursday on how to respond to fallout from the Drumcree parading dispute^1,2. The BBC page retrieved at the assigned URL said sources described two options: collapsing the Northern Ireland Executive by removing Little-Pengelly, or an immediate halt to joint engagements and press conferences with O'Neill¹.

If the Executive collapsed, the Assembly can still sit for at least six months and departmental ministers can remain in place, the BBC report said¹. The Examiner likewise said withdrawing Little-Pengelly would force O'Neill from the joint office and stop the Executive from taking significant decisions, while ministers could stay up to six months².

Unionist anger followed Sinn Fein involvement in protests on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, County Armagh, which blocked a contentious Orange Order parade^1,2. O'Neill last week attended a police interview over the protest and has said her presence was the right thing to do, the Examiner reported². The BBC said senior Sinn Fein politicians, including the first minister, have attended police interviews¹.

DUP MLA Maurice Bradley joined MP Carla Lockhart and MLA Diane Forsythe in calling for O'Neill's removal, the BBC reported¹. Bradley said removing her would not by itself require the Assembly to collapse and that public services needed functioning government¹. Lockhart quit the DUP officer board last week after leader Gavin Robinson did not remove the deputy first minister^1,2.

Robinson has resisted pulling Little-Pengelly out, arguing that imploding the Executive would damage unionism, the Examiner said². On BBC's The View he said the party had reached a democratic decision, questioned whether it was necessary to punish everyone in Northern Ireland, and said all options remained on the table¹.

The Examiner said the Parades Commission had allowed the Orange Order to parade the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years, a two-week stand-off followed, and Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant later banned the procession, a decision a High Court judge upheld on Wednesday². Police have said interview invitations went to people reasonably suspected of offences over the Sept. 27 protest². An Assembly election is due in May².