Assembly must have say, Empey tells Blair

Northern Ireland Assembly members must be given a say over the running of the North even if talks to restore power-sharing fail next month, the British government was told tonight.

In his speech to Ulster Unionists in Lurgan, Senior party member Reg Empey claimed the position of Stormont’s 108 Assembly members would become untenable if the North remained solely under direct rule after talks in Maidstone, Kent in mid September.