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Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson steps down Stormont in crisis as Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson resigns
(about 1 hour later)
Northern Ireland’s first minister has stepped down from the region’s power-sharing government, which is on the brink of collapse following police allegations that the IRA still exists. Northern Ireland has been plunged into its worst crisis in nearly a decade after the first minister, Peter Robinson, resigned from his post in the wake of the alleged involvement of the IRA in a Belfast killing.
Peter Robinson’s announcement came after his Democratic Unionist party, the largest at Stormont, was defeated in a vote to suspend the assembly for emergency talks to take place. In a dramatic move which threatens to collapse the Northern Ireland assembly for the first time since 2007, Robinson warned that the continued existence of IRA structures had “pushed devolution to the brink”.
But the first minister, who has faced intense pressure after the smaller Ulster Unionist party (UUP) pulled out its sole minister from the executive, stepped back from pushing power sharing and devolution over the brink.
Robinson appointed the finance minister, Arlene Foster, as acting first minister – a move aimed at keeping devolution going for a few more weeks – after failing to persuade David Cameron to suspend the Stormont assembly in Belfast. He emphasised that he had not “technically resigned”.
The move, which also saw all the Democratic Unionist party ministers resign from the power-sharing executive, leaves a seven-day window for the British and Irish governments to try to patch together a deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin. Robinson has seven days to renominate his ministers. Elections to the assembly would be triggered if Robinson fails to nominate a new team.
Related: Northern Ireland's political crisis: the key questions answeredRelated: Northern Ireland's political crisis: the key questions answered
Robinson said his DUP colleague and finance minister Arlene Foster would become temporary first minister, but all his party’s other ministers would resign. The DUP leader wanted Cameron to take on powers that would allow him to suspend devolution for a short time in an echo of the repeated suspensions which eventually led to the resignation of Lord Trimble as first minister in 2002. The suspensions, which were ordered during a a lengthy row over the decommissioning of IRA weapons, undermined Trimble’s position and paved the way for the DUP, then the more hardline unionist party, to displace the Ulster Unionists as Northern Ireland’s largest party.
The move by the DUP is designed to keep devolution going for a few more weeks. Robinson stressed that he hadn’t “technically resigned”. In a reversal of roles, the much diminished UUP, which governed Northern Ireland from its creation in the 1920s until the imposition of direct rule from London at the height of the Troubles in 1972, is now putting pressure on the DUP over power sharing with Sinn Féin.
Keeping Foster inside the executive as both acting first minister and finance minister keeps the devolved government alive in “zombie form” and buys the parallel talks process about six weeks, a DUP source told the Guardian. The secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, indicated that Westminster would resist pressure from Robinson, saying on Thursday night that she would not suspend the devolved institutions. Villiers acknowledged that the DUP resignations meant the functioning of the executive would become much more difficult. “It is a sign of a complete breakdown in working relationships within the executive,” she said.
However, Robinson’s exit – along with three of the DUP’s four other ministers – has left the 13-minister administration in freefall. The departments of health and social care; social development; enterprise trade and investment; and regional development are now effectively rudderless. Emergency talks are being held parallel to the Stormont assembly aimed at defusing the crisis caused by the declaration by George Hamilton, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), that IRA members were behind the murder of former comrade Kevin McGuigan last month. Robinson pointed to the arrest of Sinn Féin’s northern chairman, Bobby Storey, in connection with the McGuigan murder as a key reason why unionists had lost faith in sharing power with republicans. Storey and two other Belfast republicans are still being questioned over the McGuigan killing.
Robinson said: “In light of the decision by republicans, nationalists and the UUP to continue with business as usual in the assembly, I am therefore standing aside as first minister and other DUP ministers will resign with immediate effect with the exception of Arlene Foster. Defending his decision to appoint Foster as acting first minister, Robinson said he had put her in the post to prevent political rivals making “irrational financial decisions”. “The failure of the SDLP and Sinn Féin to implement the Stormont House agreement, together with the assessment of the chief constable of the involvement of the IRA in murder, the continued existence of IRA structures, and the arrests that followed, has pushed devolution to the brink,” Robinson said.
“I have asked Arlene to remain in post as finance minister and acting first minister to ensure that nationalists and republicans are not able to take financial and other decisions that may be detrimental to Northern Ireland.” Keeping Foster inside the executive as acting first minister and finance minister keeps devolved government alive in “zombie form” and buys the talks process about six weeks, a DUP source told the Guardian.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, said she would not be suspending the devolved institutions and called on the local parties to come together. She said the DUP resignations would make it more difficult for the executive to function. “It is a sign of a complete breakdown in working relationships within the executive,” she said. It is understood Robinson took action that stopped short of fully crashing the devolved institutions because he did not get Downing Street’s backing for suspension.
Earlier on Thursday the DUP failed to win enough votes in the parliament’s business committee to adjourn the workings of the assembly. Robinson wanted an adjournment to allow for only emergency talks to take place over allegations that the IRA still exists and had killed its one time member Kevin McGuigan. But hardline Traditional Unionist Voice leader, Jim Allister, accused Robinson and the DUP of a U-turn on their threats on Wednesday that they would all resign from the executive.
Robinson warned that it could not be business as usual at Stormont while these discussions were to take place. But crucially the smaller nationalist party, the SDLP, refused to back the DUP motion even though the cross-community Alliance party supported it. Earlier on Thursday, the SDLP resisted pressure from Ireland’s prime minister during a meeting in Dublin in which the taoiseach, Enda Kenny, urged the northern nationalist party to support adjournment as a means of saving devolution in Northern Ireland. The DUP later lost a vote to have business at the Stormont parliament adjourned.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the prime minister was gravely concerned about the worsening political crisis at Stormont.
Asked if he was considering powers to suspend the assembly, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said: “There are obviously now different people calling for different things, and the prime minister’s calls with the secretary of state and the first minister are an opportunity for us to consider what steps should be taken next.”
The SDLP resisted pressure from the Irish premier during a meeting in Dublin in which Taoiseach Enda Kenny urged the northern nationalist party to support adjournment as a means of saving devolution in Northern Ireland.
Related: Unionists may come to regret collapse of power sharing over McGuigan murder
The SDLP leader, Alasdair McDonnell, said: “Adjournment would not have added anything, an adjournment would have been there and when the adjournment was over we would still have been drifting toward suspension. The adjournment was not the solution and we looked at this long and hard.”The SDLP leader, Alasdair McDonnell, said: “Adjournment would not have added anything, an adjournment would have been there and when the adjournment was over we would still have been drifting toward suspension. The adjournment was not the solution and we looked at this long and hard.”
The Alliance party leader, David Ford, later accused the SDLP of betraying the peace process for the sake of its party’s electoral competition with Sinn Féin. Related: Unionists may come to regret collapse of power sharing over McGuigan murder
“John Hume and David Trimble (former SDLP and UUP leaders) sacrificed their parties for the sake of the peace process,” he said. “Today the current leadership of the Ulster Unionists and SDLP has sacrificed the peace process. For what?” McDonnell’s line meant it was inevitable that the DUP would act in relation with most of its ministers leaving the regional government.
The Ulster Unionist party had also refused to adjourn Stormont business but had already pulled out of the power-sharing government. Sinn Féin said the DUP’s move was a “grave mistake”. The party’s president, Gerry Adams, said Sinn Féin were up for “real talks” with unionists and others. Adams said it was up to the PSNI and not politicians to investigate the McGuigan murder and the previous killing of ex-IRA man Gerard “Jock” Davison.
Their move was prompted by the assessment of George Hamilton, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, that members of the IRA killed Kevin McGuigan in a revenge murder in August, and that the republican paramilitary group still maintains a structure. McGuigan’s family and other republican sources have insisted since the father of nine was shot dead outside his home in East Belfast in August that the IRA was responsible.
Sinn Féin leaders insist the IRA has gone away and “left the stage”, but few unionists believe that and trust has broken down between the two main power blocs. The Sinn Féin leader warned against intervention by Cameron leading to suspension. “I hope both governments support the integrity of these institutions and make it clear they will not suspend the institutions,” he said.
Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin president, made a late appeal to the DUP not to pull out and trigger the collapse of the power-sharing devolved institutions. Ireland’s foreign minister, Charles Flanagan, urged all leaders in Northern Ireland to “take a step back” and consider the gains achieved over recent years. Flanagan and Villiers are expected to be on call this weekend to resume talks between the parties aimed at rebuilding trust within the political process.
Adams said: “The decision of the [assembly’s] business committee is a very, very clear democratic reiteration of the integrity of these institutions and of the need and the wish for these institutions to continue the work which we were all elected to do on behalf of citizens in this state and across this island.” Cameron’s official spokesperson said that the prime minister was “gravely concerned” over the crisis.
Later his party colleague and deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, added his voice to calls for the DUP not to pull the plug on power sharing. McGuinness denounced those behind McGuigan’s murder and the earlier killing in May of another ex-IRA man, Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison, describing them as criminals.
However, McGuigan’s family and other republican sources in Belfast insist it was mainstream members of the Provisional IRA who killed the father of nine.