UUP to withdraw from North Executive after IRA claims

The ruling executive of the Ulster Unionist Party has unanimously endorsed the recommendation of its leader Mike Nesbitt to withdraw its single Minister, Danny Kennedy, from the Northern Executive.

After meeting at the Park Avenue Hotel in east Belfast on Saturday, some 90 members of the party’s executive supported the decision to quit the Executive over the alleged involvement of IRA members in the murder earlier this month of Belfast republican Kevin McGuigan.

Mr Nesbitt said the current Northern Executive was no longer viable.

“It is frankly a busted flush,” he said.

Mr Nesbitt said that trust in Sinn Féin was broken by the alleged involvement of IRA members in the killing of Mr McGuigan and by the additional assessment of the PSNI chief constable George Hamilton that the IRA was still in existence.

However, Mr Nesbitt indicated that the collapse of Stormont could be avoided.

“Until that trust is restored and we find mechanisms to verify trust, we cannot work in government with Sinn Féin,” he said.

He said possible methods of helping to remedy the situation could be the establishment of "hothouse talks" and the possible reactivation of the Independent Monitoring Commission to judge the status of the IRA and other paramilitaries.

Pressure on DUP

The UUP decision has put pressure on the DUP to also pull out of the Executive.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds made clear earlier this week that, while the situation was serious, the party would take time before making any such decision.

Mr Hamilton in his assessment said he did not believe the murder of Mr McGuigan was sanctioned by the IRA leadership.

He also said he accepted “the bona fides of the Sinn Féin leadership regarding their rejection of violence and pursuit of the peace process” and the party’s “assurance that they want to support police in bringing those responsible to justice”.

Despite Mr Hamilton’s comments about Sinn Féin, the UUP executive supported Mr Nesbitt’s recommendation that Mr Kennedy should resign from the Executive.

He will formally resign on Tuesday. Under the d’Hondt system of allocating Ministers, the DUP is entitled to nominate a Minister to replace him.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds indicated earlier this week that the party would not rush a decision on a possible replacement.

The Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers will meet the Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss the crisis, which is threatening the future of the Stormont Executive and Assembly.