Responding to the appointment of Julian Smith as new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Kirsty McManus, National Director, Institute of Directors Northern Ireland, said:

 “We welcome the appointment of Julian Smith as the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and look forward to engaging with him over the course of the coming months and years on behalf of our 1,000 members across all sectors.

“Given our unique circumstances in Northern Ireland in terms of our vulnerability to the impact of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, we will seek an early meeting with Julian as we work to convey the concerns of local business leaders on this and other key issues including skills and productivity.”