105 candidates register to contest North election

One hundred and five candidates have officially registered to contest next month's Westminster election in the North.

Fifteen outgoing MPs are defending their seats, while three political veterans are stepping down, including SDLP duo John Hume and Seamus Mallon.

Sinn Féin are hoping to take both men's seats in Foyle and Newry/Armagh, while the SDLP are just as anxious to prevent such a loss.

The third retiring MP is the Rev Martin Smyth of the Ulster Unionist Party, a former Grand Master of the Orange Lodge of Ireland, who is vacating his seat in South Belfast.