The secretary of state has moved to bestow powers on Northern Ireland’s language commissioners in a development that could have major implications for ongoing legal challenges. The provisions were made on Wednesday in a written statement to the House of Commons, and also enable Office of Identity and Cultural Expression to begin its work. The commissioners and the director of the new Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, Katy Radford, were appointed by the Executive Office in late October. Irish language advocacy group Conradh na Gaeilge is hopeful the new powers will enable Mr Deeds to bring forward advice and guidance relating to the legal challenges over Irish signs at Belfast’s Grand Central Station and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons’ failure to produce an Irish language strategy. He said he would “not be distracted by attempts coming from a small number of individuals in recent weeks and months to paint promotion of the Irish language as divisive or to lobby against the Office of the Irish language Commissioner”.