This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34204542
The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 12 | Version 13 |
---|---|
Stormont crisis: Bid to adjourn Northern Ireland Assembly fails | Stormont crisis: Bid to adjourn Northern Ireland Assembly fails |
(35 minutes later) | |
An attempt to adjourn the Northern Ireland Assembly has been defeated amid a growing political crisis for Stormont's power-sharing institutions. | |
The proposal was opposed by the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and Sinn Féin. | |
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 crisis was sparked by the murder of a former IRA man 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. | |
But he added that it was committed to politics and is not engaged in terrorism. | |
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. |
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." |
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. |
"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." |
Analysis: Jon Brain, BBC News correspondent | |
The only real hope of saving the Northern Ireland Assembly was that Stormont's business committee would vote for an adjournment. | |
That would have given the assembly and politicians breathing space to negotiate and find a resolution to the problems they have been facing. | |
The fact that option has been rejected means we could now get a suspension imposed from Westminster. | |
If that doesn't happen, then DUP ministers will walk out. | |
We are in uncharted territory now, this is clearly a real crisis developing. |