Former US president Bill Clinton has cancelled plans to attend a series of events throughout Ireland next month due to his pressing schedule in his wife's campaign.
Bill Clinton has cancelled plans to visit Belfast
Mr Clinton was to have attended an event in Belfast on April 10th to mark the tenth anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, along with former senator George Mitchell and other key negotiators.
Ian Paisley Jnr claimed today Mr Clinton's decision to pull out of the celebrations was a vote of no confidence in the Agreement.
The Democratic Unionist North Antrim Assembly member said: "If the Agreement was the pinnacle of his foreign policy success - as stated by some overblown commentators - Bill Clinton would already be here basking in the collective glow and indeed his wife would be with him benefiting from the political advantage offered during a Presidential campaign that appears to be feeling the pinch.
"His decision to put other domestic matters first shows two things - firstly that the Presidential campaign by his wife requires his support and priority at home, not abroad, and secondly that he recognises that the Agreement was not the final solution, but was in fact flawed and required the major changes negotiated by the DUP at St Andrews some years later.
The US Ireland Alliance's event on April 10th will have contributions from participants in the Good Friday Agreement talks including Senator George Mitchell who chaired them, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy.
Other speakers will include Nobel Peace Prize laureate John Hume, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey, SDLP leader Mark Durkan, Progressive Unionist leader Dawn Purvis, Northern Ireland's Chief Human Rights Commissioner Monica McWilliams, Independent Monitoring Commission member Lord Alderdice, former minister for foreign affairs David Andrews and former junior minister Liz O'Donnell.