Ballymena says yes to birthday boy Paisley

Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley is to be awarded the freedom of his home town in Co Antrim, Ballymena.

Party colleagues succeeded last night in reversing a decision last month by Ballymena Borough Council to refuse the veteran North Antrim MP the honour.

However six Ulster Unionist councillors stayed away from last night's special sitting, enabling the DUP to secure the necessary support.

The freedom of the borough has not been conferred on Ballymena’s other famous son, the Oscar-nominated star of Schindler’s List and Michael Collins, Liam Neeson.

Mr Paisley, who is 78 today, founded the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951. In 1970, he was elected as a Stormont MP and set up the DUP a year later.

He has been a Westminster MP, is a Stormont Assembly member and has been a member of the European Parliament since the first election in 1979.

Earlier this year, he announced he would stand down from Europe to concentrate on the negotiations on devolution at Stormont.

Last November, the DUP became the biggest unionist party and the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly election.