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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

BBC NI election debate: How to watch the final Stormont leaders' debate

Leaders from Stormont's five main parties are to go head-to-head in the final TV debate of the Assembly election campaign.

The Leaders' Debate will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland on Tuesday at 9pm and will run for an hour. It will also be broadcast at the same time on the BBC News channel and iPlayer.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, UUP leader Doug Beattie and Alliance leader Naomi Long are due to take part.

Read more: How the Stormont leaders' performed in the UTV election debate

The debate will be chaired by BBC journalist Jim Fitzpatrick in front of a live studio audience.

Questions will be asked by members of the audience, which will be made up of party activists and undecided voters representing a range of political opinions and demographics.

It is the second TV debate of the campaign after party leaders clashed during the first on UTV on Sunday.

They debated issues including the potential for a border poll on Irish unity, post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Northern Ireland Protocol and cost-of-living pressures.

Sir Jeffrey faced criticism over the DUP decision to collapse Stormont's power-sharing Executive earlier this year in protest against the Protocol.

The Lagan Valley MP said he wanted "durable" Stormont institutions but the Irish Sea trade checks are "undermining political stability".

Ms O'Neill also came under pressure after the Sunday Times reported that Sinn Féin had contacted Saoradh, a group accused of having links to the New IRA, about a potential "co-operation agreement" to achieve a border poll.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader said that "no gang who is involved in criminality, armed action, should exist today".

Read more: DUP MP's letter to court for Tory MP facing child sex assault charge revealed

Read more: Green Party suspends Stormont Assembly election candidate

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