Calls for Peter Robinson to stand down are a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Ulster Unionist splits, Democratic Unionist Sammy Wilson MLA said today.

Reg Empey today confirmed he will step down as Ulster Unionist leader in the autumn after a disappointing election campaign.

Reg Empey is expected to stay on as Ulster Unionist leader following a meeting of senior members tomorrow.

Peter Robinson received unanimous backing from Democratic Unionist members of the Northern Ireland Assembly today following the loss of his East Belfast Westminster seat.

THE leaders of Northern Ireland’s two main unionist parties were last night fighting for their political lives after the DUP’s Peter Robinson and the Ulster Unionists’ Reg Empey suffered humiliating defeats.

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) brushed off accusations of performing a U-turn today after announcing he would run in the UK's General Election.

The decision of the Northern Ireland Assembly to agree to the devolution of policing and justice powers will build on the gains of the peace process, the British and Irish governments said today.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has voted to devolve policing and justice powers from London.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is braced for a tense stand-off after the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) declared it will use a crunch vote today to reject the deal brokered to stabilise the power-sharing government.

Pressure was mounting on the Ulster Unionists today to drop their opposition to the landmark deal to devolve policing powers to the North after a new government poll indicated sizeable public support for the move.

The UUP insisted today they remained opposed to the landmark agreement to devolve policing powers to the North despite weekend contact from the pro-deal US administration.

The Ulster Unionists said tonight that they would not be supporting the landmark deal to devolve policing powers to the North at a crucial Assembly vote next week.

The Ulster Unionist Party’s sole MP Lady Sylvia Hermon today said she will “weigh up her options” after refusing to fight the next election under a joint banner with the Conservative Party.

The North's political parties were under increasing pressure today to agree a deal to save the region's power-sharing government.

The domination of the North’s coalition government by the DUP and Sinn Féin must end if the UUP is to support the devolution of policing and justice powers, the party said today.

Hundreds of extra young people could become apprentices under an ambitious new scheme, the North's Employment Minister said today.

Degree classifications in the North are no longer fit for purpose, Reg Empey said today.

Up to a quarter of working adults lack basic computing skills, the North's employment minister said today.

The Conservative Party will seek to renegotiate the power-sharing agreement which returned devolution to the North if it wins the next general election, a party spokesman said today.

Voters in the North can play a central role in national UK politics thanks to the new Ulster Unionists-Conservative electoral pact, the parties said today.

Three out of four newly-qualified teachers in the North have failed to secure permanent or significant temporary positions, it was revealed today.

News on the jobs front in the North has been just as gloomy today with the announcment that a glass company employing 75 is being put into administration.

Former enemies in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin have defied their critics to form a stable government in the North, it was claimed today.

The Ulster Unionist Party tonight agreed to form an electoral pact with the UK's Conservatives.

The North’s government has been locked in suspended animation by the dispute between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin, it was claimed today.

Employers in the North shed at least 230 apprenticeships in the last year with the construction industry hardest hit, it was revealed today.

The Ulster Unionist Party today made a pact for next year’s European election with former Democratic Unionist MEP Jim Allister, who is seeking to retain the seat he won when still in the DUP.

Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey has warned that disagreements between the DUP and Sinn Féin are so deep that the Stormont Executive might not meet before the end of the year.

All agency workers in the North will be entitled to statutory sick pay before the end of the month it was announced today.

A senior Ulster Unionist was tonight replaced as chief whip amid claims from the DUP he was sacked after clashing with his party’s would-be partners – the UK's Conservative Party.

Sinn Féin’s coalition partners united against the party tonight after it blocked a crunch meeting of the North's Cabinet.

Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey called today for early talks with his SDLP counterpart over his proposal that mandatory power-sharing between nationalists and unionists at Stormont should be ended.

The British Conservative Party is in talks with the Ulster Unionists about joining forces to create a new political movement in the North, it was revealed today.

TOM COOPER (Letters, February 14) refers to the the intolerance that has poisoned relations between Christians on this island for generations and polluted the good name of Protestantism.

Connell’s emergence as a headline-maker once again in the last few weeks is a reminder that he was appointed Archbishop of Dublin at a time when he was the last person the Catholic church needed precisely because he was inflexible and driven by his belief in absolute truths

Around 900 workers in a technology factory facing closure later this year could receive job training as they continue to put in shifts, it emerged today.

The Ulster Unionists and SDLP have become problem parties at Stormont, Martin McGuinness insisted today.

The leader of the Ulster Unionists is calling on the IRA to disband completely.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Reg Empey has told his party's AGM today that it has to embark on a reform crusade to improve discipline and its electoral appeal.

The Ulster Unionist Party is facing into its annual general meeting this weekend amid signs of rising tension within the party.

The Ulster Unionist Party is united, a senior member insisted today.

Furious supporters of Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey tonight accused elements within the party of trying to destabilise his leadership.

Former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble is to join the Conservative Party in the House of Lords, it emerged tonight.

The Ulster Unionist Party has named Michael McGimpsey as the Health Minister in the North's new power-sharing Executive.