Paisley finally secures 30th signature

DUP leader Ian Paisley has finally secured the 30 signatures he needs to table a motion seeking Sinn Fein’s expulsion from the power-sharing Northern Assembly.

Until today, Mr Paisley could only rally support from 28 of his colleagues, but hardline anti-agreement Ulster Unionist Pauline Armitage eventually agreed to sign his petition.

The motion will now go before the business committee, which will allocate a date for a debate on the request.

However, with the SDLP unlikely to support the motion, it is effectively a waste of time because it needs cross-community support to succeed.

Mr Paisley and his UUP counterpart, David Trimble, both want Sinn Fein expelled from the Assembly because of the IRA’s failure to decommission its weapons.

The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning said in July that the IRA had proposed a satisfactory method of disarmament but the unionists said this move didn’t go far enough.

Mr Trimble and Mr Paisley are now planning to withdraw their members from the Assembly if the motion to oust Sinn Fein fails.

This move would force the British Government into suspending the Assembly and returning to temporary direct rule.