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Stormont crisis: Bid to adjourn Northern Ireland Assembly fails Stormont crisis: Bid to adjourn Northern Ireland Assembly fails
(35 minutes later)
A proposal to adjourn the Northern Ireland Assembly has been defeated. An attempt to adjourn the Northern Ireland Assembly has been defeated amid a growing political crisis for Stormont's power-sharing institutions.
It was put before Stormont's business committee and was opposed by the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and Sinn Féin. The proposal was opposed by the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and Sinn Féin.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said it would resign from the executive if the committee did not agree the proposal or if the government does not suspend the institutions. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said it will quit Northern Ireland's ruling executive if the assembly is not adjourned or suspended by the government.
The failure of the adjournment bid is the latest development in an ongoing political crisis in Northern Ireland. The crisis was sparked by the murder of a former IRA man last month.
It was sparked by the murder of former IRA man Kevin McGuigan Sr last month. The killing of Kevin McGuigan Sr caused a political row after Northern Ireland's police chief said members of the IRA had a role in the murder, and that the organisation still existed.
The crisis deepened after the arrests of three senior republicans on Wednesday. But he added that it was committed to politics and is not engaged in terrorism.
Sinn Féin's northern chairman Bobby Storey is one of those being questioned about the murder. Sinn Féin said the IRA had "gone away".
But the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) said Sinn Féin's denial that the IRA existed caused a breakdown in trust and it left its government role.
The crisis deepened on Wednesday when Sinn Féin's northern chairman Bobby Storey and two other senior republicans were arrested in connection with the murder.
As the DUP are the largest party, the power-sharing institutions cannot operate without them.As the DUP are the largest party, the power-sharing institutions cannot operate without them.
Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said that if the DUP resigns from the executive then "we move immediately to an election". On Tuesday, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson warned: "If the assembly and executive falls we are probably talking about the best part of a decade before it would ever be revived."
The adjournment proposal was put before Stormont's business committee and was rejected by three of Northern Ireland's main parties.
After the vote on the adjournment, Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said that if the DUP resigns from the executive then "we move immediately to an election".
He added: "I don't think people want an election at this time."He added: "I don't think people want an election at this time."
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said while his party did not, they would face it "positively" if it was to happen.
SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell said his party's decision to vote against the adjournment was unanimous.SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell said his party's decision to vote against the adjournment was unanimous.
"The adjournment was being sought on the basis of arrests, which was a direct interference between the policing and the judicial process," he said."The adjournment was being sought on the basis of arrests, which was a direct interference between the policing and the judicial process," he said.
He added: "We will not cross the wires of the political process here and policing and that is what the DUP have been doing, creating a crisis here around the arrest. "We will not cross the wires of the political process here and policing and that is what the DUP have been doing, creating a crisis here around the arrest."
He criticised other parties for putting the institutions at risk but said adjournment was not the answer.He criticised other parties for putting the institutions at risk but said adjournment was not the answer.
David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party, which voted in favour of an adjournment, said the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP had "sacrificed the peace process".David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party, which voted in favour of an adjournment, said the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP had "sacrificed the peace process".
"The people of Northern Ireland are disappointed at how devolution has worked."The people of Northern Ireland are disappointed at how devolution has worked.
"The reality is we are going to have to have talks - it would be better they happened in the next weeks than in five years time.""The reality is we are going to have to have talks - it would be better they happened in the next weeks than in five years time."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland's Chief Constable George Hamilton said last month that Provisional IRA members had a role in Mr McGuigan Sr's murder. Analysis: Jon Brain, BBC News correspondent
Sinn Féin has denied this and maintains the Provisional IRA no longer exists. The only real hope of saving the Northern Ireland Assembly was that Stormont's business committee would vote for an adjournment.
The chief constable also said there was no evidence at that stage that the killing had been sanctioned at a senior level of the organisation. That would have given the assembly and politicians breathing space to negotiate and find a resolution to the problems they have been facing.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said there was only one republican organisation and that was Sinn Féin. The fact that option has been rejected means we could now get a suspension imposed from Westminster.
"The IRA has gone," he said. If that doesn't happen, then DUP ministers will walk out.
We are in uncharted territory now, this is clearly a real crisis developing.