Paisley rejects SF nomination as first minister

THE reconvened Stormont Assembly broke up in acrimony yesterday following a 12-minute session during which the Reverend Ian Paisley refused to accept Sinn Féin’s nomination as first minister.

The DUP leader rejected the move with a defiant “certainly not” after the Speaker put Sinn Féin president Gerry Adam’s proposal to him.

The DUP called the bid a cheap stunt by Sinn Féin, which would have seen the party’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness installed as Deputy First Minister.