UUP braced for resignations after hardliners defeated

The Ulster Unionist Party was today facing the grim prospect of mass resignations following the defeat of hardliners led by Jeffrey Donaldson at a meeting of its ruling council in Belfast.

A bid by the Lagan Valley MP to force party leader David Trimble to reject the Irish and British governments’ plan for the future of the peace process failed to win over a majority of the 900-member ruling council in Belfast last night.