Two more DUP councillors quit

Two more of the Reverend Ian Paisley’s councillors in his Ballymena heartland resigned tonight over his decision to enter government with Sinn Féin.

Their protest wipes out the Democratic Unionist party’s majority in the former County Antrim stronghold of the fundamentalist Protestant leader and brings to five the number of disillusioned representatives quitting the party.

Ballymena Mayor James Alexander and party colleague Robin Stirling told a council meeting that they were leaving the party tonight.

They joined Roy Gillespie, Sam Gaston and David Tweed who earlier walked away.

On March 26, the Reverend Paisley agreed to become First Minister in the North's Assembly alongside Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin.

The DUP’s man in Europe, MEP Jim Allister left the party on Tuesday citing the continued existence of the IRA’s army council as a reason for concern.