Founding member of Alliance Party dies

One of the founding members of the North's Alliance Party, Basil Glass, died today.

Mr Glass, who was 79, represented South Belfast in the Stormont Assembly of the 1970s and was a member of the Alliance negotiating team in the talks which culminated in the Sunningdale Agreement in 1973.

Alliance Party leader David Ford expressed his sadness at the death.

“Basil played a leading role in the foundation of the Alliance Party. He will be remembered for his commitment to reconciliation, in its widest scope, not just for Alliance,” he said.

Mr Ford added: “Within the Alliance Party, Basil helped build its solid foundations. He was also heavily involved in working on behalf of the community of south Belfast, where he served as councillor and Assembly member in the 1970’s.”

The entire community owed Mr Glass a great debt for all his public activities, he said, adding that the party would sorely miss him.

Mr Glass was also a well known Belfast solicitor and after retirement from politics he became a Master of the Supreme Court and from which he retired a few years ago.