Unionist MP Maginnis to stand down

Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis has announced he is to stand down at the next General Election - but insists his party could hold on to his Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat.

A selection meeting to find the UUP's replacement candidate is expected before the end of the month.

But many observers feel if an agreed nationalist candidate is put forward the party could struggle to keep the seat Mr Maginnis has held for 18 years.

The UUP security spokesman acknowledged that the next election will be closely contested.

"If you do a sectarian head count in Fermanagh and South Tyrone you'll find that it's touch and go either way," he told the BBC.

"Remember, nobody this century with the exception of myself has held this seat for longer than about nine years."

However, Mr Maginnis stresses that his party's record in trying to find a solution to the difficulties facing Northern Ireland could hold the key to success.

"I believe that unionism can hold the seat in so far as unionism, particularly Ulster Unionism, has been constructive," he said.

"We have actually been a party that has tackled the problems and looked ahead rather than rested on our prejudices and the prejudices of the past."

Mr Maginnis, 62, says that as "the engine's still good" health is not a prime reason in his decision to stand down. The former schoolteacher, soldier and businessman says he feels it is time to devote more time to other pursuits.