Lords to decide on Trimble re-election

The British House of Lords is to be asked to decide whether the re-election of David Trimble as Northern Ireland First Minister last November was valid, it was announced tonight.

The Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party challenged the election of Mr Trimble, and Mark Durkan as Deputy First Minister, in the courts in Belfast.

In a judgment today three Appeal Court judges voted two to one in rejecting the challenge to the elections which took place outside a designated time frame and also the decision of Ulster Secretary John Reid not to call fresh Assembly elections before May next year despite the lateness of the election.

However the dissenting voice was that of the Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, and the DUP said they were using his argument to back their case in the Lords.

The case was taken up by DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson, who said following the judgment that Sir Robert’s dissenting opinion ‘‘vindicated our decision to take legal action.’’

Mr Robinson said it was an ‘‘unprecedented decision’’ that the Lord Chief Justice delivered a dissenting judgment in his own court.

‘‘Fortified by Lord Chief Justice Carswell’s judgment on this matter we have already been granted leave to bring this matter to the House of Lords.

‘‘Going to the House of Lords armed with the judgment of the most eminent judge in Northern Ireland has given us a significant boost.’’

His court action was based on the argument that Dr Reid had been wrong to accept the election of the First and Deputy First Ministers beyond a designated time frame.

The election in the Stormont Assembly failed one day, but went through a few days later after a number of non-aligned politicians re-designated themselves as unionists to achieve the required level of unionist and nationalist support.

Mr Trimble had resigned as First Minister last July - forcing the resignation of the Deputy First Minister - to put pressure on the IRA to begin disarming.

Once the IRA had made its first move on decommissioning weapons he and Mr Durkan went before the Assembly seeking election.

The required nationalist-unionist support was not achieved on the first vote, but was met a few days later - after the designated time frame.

The Secretary of State then said there was no need for him to call fresh elections to a new Assembly, outraging the DUP.