Mr Ian Paisley jnr of the Democratic Unionist Party was excluded from the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday for calling Sinn Fein minister Mr Martin McGuinness a "liar".
The MLA was asked by the Speaker of the Assembly, Lord Alderdice, to withdraw the comment, made during ministerial questions on Monday. He had called the Minister of Education a liar after he claimed the DUP politician had not condemned publicly attacks on Catholic schools in his North Antrim constituency during the Drumcree crisis.
When asked to withdraw the remarks at the start of yesterday's session, Mr Paisley said: "In all conscience, I cannot withdraw something that I know to be the truth." He will be excluded from the Assembly building for one sitting day.
Later Mr Paisley said he had no regrets for what he had said. He added: "Martin McGuinness yesterday attempted to avoid answering a question about school security by lying about me, trying to suggest that I failed to condemn attacks in my constituency when I have been at the forefront of condemnation of these attacks."
Mr Paisley said Mr McGuinness was unfit to be a minister and should have been expelled for his allegations against him. But he accepted the Speaker had no choice but to throw him out of the Assembly. "There are rules that can't be broken and I have broken one of those rules and I accept that."
According to the Assembly's standing orders, the Speaker can order members to leave immediately if they use unparliamentary language which they refuse to withdraw.
A member who abuses the rules of the Assembly can be suspended for up to five sitting days.