Northern Assembly - DUP must commit fully to Stormont

Stormont, on what might have been an auspicious occasion had the DUP nominated a first minister, witnessed, instead, a reminder of its violent past.

The meeting of the Assembly yesterday was crucial for the future of Northern Ireland. Both the Irish and British Governments hoped, indeed expected, that Ian Paisley’s DUP and Sinn Féin would nominate a first minister and a deputy respectively which would pave the way to Assembly elections next March and devolution later that month.

Sinn Féin committed themselves by Gerry Adams nominating Martin McGuinness as deputy. The DUP did not, and the predictable obfuscation from Mr Paisley was their response.