Conservative quits committee in row over UUP pact

A proposed marriage between the Ulster Unionist Party and the British Conservatives appears to be in some disarray following a row over sectarianism and the name of the new coalition.

A leading Conservative member of the committee set up to increase co-operation between the two has quit the body as a result of the disagreement.

Jeffrey Peel is accusing the UUP of trying to use the Conservatives to get out of a financial hole.

He also says the new party was to have been called the Conservative and Unionist Party, but this has been changed to the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force.

Mr Peel says the unwieldy name was a concession to people who insisted on retaining the word Ulster, signifying that the new party would not be truly modern and non-sectarian.