DUP faces accusations of damaging democracy as NI Assembly unable to elect Speaker

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson avoids questions as he walks through the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings at Stormont (Liam McBurney/PA)

Northern Irish political parties rounded on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for failing to elect a Speaker to the Assembly on Friday.

The decision by the DUP, led by Jeffrey Donaldson, not to elect a Speaker largely blocks the normal functioning of the Assembly.