Mr David Trimble has asserted his intention to remain as Ulster Unionist Party leader despite losing ground to the DUP in the Assembly election and the additional discord caused by the resignation from the UUP of Mr Jeffrey Donaldson. Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor, reports.
After a meeting of the UUP's officer board yesterday, Mr Trimble said he would not "desert his post" and implicitly criticised Mr Donaldson, and also fellow MLAs Ms Arlene Foster and Ms Norah Beare who resigned with the Lagan Valley MP last week. "We think it is a shame that three people who were elected as Ulster Unionists have defected from the party in whose interests they stood.
"Obviously that was a matter of quite considerable discussion," said Mr Trimble after the two-hour meeting of party officers.
Mr Donaldson said it was a "bit rich" of Mr Trimble to level such criticism when it was "he and his supporters who initiated the action to have me expelled from the party".
Ahead of the officers' meeting party president, the Rev Martin Smyth, said Mr Trimble should consider his position as leader. Mr Trimble, however, said Mr Smyth did not put any such statement to him during the meeting at party headquarters.
"But I - just to make sure there was no doubt about the matter - made it absolutely clear that I have been elected by the Ulster Unionist Council as leader.
"I don't intend to desert my post. The Council can decide to retire me, that is entirely their privilege. But I have every intention of continuing," added Mr Trimble. He planned to successfully seek re-election as leader at the annual meeting of the UUP's ruling body, the Ulster Unionist Council, in March.
Recent days has seen some speculation that a number of senior figures within the party felt that Mr Trimble should resign.
But apart from anti-Belfast Agreement unionists, no senior figure has called for his resignation.
Mr Trimble said he did not feel under pressure. "When I say that I say it against my own background and experience. As people know, this is not a job which one goes into expecting an easy life. That's not the way it is, that's not the way it should be. I am quite content and quite comfortable within myself with where we are," he added.
Mr Trimble said Mr Donaldson's prediction that the UUP would never again be the biggest party in unionism was wrong.
"I shall be very happy to remind him of that when we are again the biggest party in unionism - we still remain the major party in unionism even though we've had a bit of a setback in the election," he said.
Mr Smyth did not speak to the press after the meeting but indicated in yesterday's Belfast Telegraph that Mr Trimble could lose the leadership in March.
He suggested were this the case, Mr Donaldson could then return to the UUP, but for such a scenario to work out Mr Donaldson must refrain from joining the DUP.
Mr Donaldson said on the basis of the officers' meeting, there seemed "little prospect of David Trimble either standing down or being removed". He was disappointed that the officers did not ask him to resign.
"I think that David Trimble will probably hang on. He will be the captain of a sinking ship. Sadly, a lot of good people will go down with him," he added.
Mr Donaldson said he had not formally made his mind up about joining the DUP but added that he was in continuing discussions with the Rev Ian Paisley's party, and a statement about his future intentions should be forthcoming early in the new year.