Troubled Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Assembly member Paul Berry announced his resignation from the party today following allegations about his private life.
Paul Berry. Photo: PA
The Newry and Armagh MLA took legal action against the DUP leadership in a bid to stop disciplinary action against him following newspaper claims that he met a male masseur at a Belfast hotel during the last general election.
Paul Berry
But today the Northern Ireland High Court was told that Mr Berry has decided to quit the party and has agreed to pay £3,000 (€4,372) towards his legal costs.
In a statement issued through his solicitors Madden Finucane, Mr Berry said: "Today I wish to publicly announce my resignation from the Democratic Unionist Party.
"The past number of months has been a particularly stressful time for my wife, family and myself, and we want closure on this matter.
"We have come to the conclusion that there is no future for me within the DUP and on that basis we have decided that is best for me to resign."
Mr Berry (29) is one of the youngest members of the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly and has long been regarded as a leading light in the next generation of the Reverend Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists. But he was suspended by the DUP in July 2005 after the lurid allegations appeared in a Sunday tabloid.
PA