IAN PAISLEY JNR has confirmed to The Irish Timeshe is to be nominated by his father, the DUP leader, to the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Mr Paisley jnr said last night he was looking forward to the appointment, and insisted that the Paisleys were far from finished despite his resignation last week.
A vacancy has arisen on the board, which holds the PSNI chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, and his senior officers to account, following the nomination of Jeffrey Donaldson to the Stormont Executive as a junior minister last week after Mr Paisley jnr formally quit.
The move is being seen as a defiant step by the 81-year-old DUP leader following the setback of his son's resignation as junior minister. The two Paisleys worked particularly closely within the executive and in the Assembly, and the junior minister's departure, brought about by some within the DUP Assembly group who want a change at the top, was seen as a significant blow to Dr Paisley's leadership and his position as First Minister.
Mr Paisley jnr, criticised for his lobbying on behalf of developer Seymour Sweeney in relation to a range of projects including a visitors' centre at the Giant's Causeway, also stood his ground yesterday.
He said he would back an appeal by Mr Sweeney whose application for a private-sector facility at the causeway was rejected by environment minister Arlene Foster four weeks ago.The lodging of an appeal has been confirmed by the Planning Service.
Some DUP figures were deeply unhappy at persistent questioning of Mr Paisley's support for Mr Seymour's projects, and especially his Giant's Causeway plans which were raised with Tony Blair at the St Andrews talks in October 2006.
Mr Paisley returns to the Policing Board for a second term having served on the first board for five years.
He told The Irish Timeslast night that the PSNI faced a series of key challenges which he was eager to address.