A leading article in Britain's Independent newspaper has the following (my emphasis):
It is also evident, albeit in a different form, in the Global Investment Summit that opened on Thursday with a rousing speech from the Prime Minister full of assurances about "getting behind" British business.
I have some confusion in understanding this statement. Are the words which are enclosed in quotation marks showing irony? Or is it just that the quoted words (by the source) are being quoted again by the author? Or is it that the author doesn't have the same opinion as did the source had in the meaning of the words? Also please provide me with some important points in understanding quotation marks and their uses as I am a non-native learner.