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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Paisley to quit as first minister | Paisley to quit as first minister |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| First Minister Ian Paisley is to stand down from the post in May, he has announced. | |
| He also said he would be resigning as leader of the DUP, a party he has led for almost 40 years, at the same time. | He also said he would be resigning as leader of the DUP, a party he has led for almost 40 years, at the same time. |
| Mr Paisley, who will be 82 in April, took the post of first minister in May 2007 following the suspension of direct rule after a period of five years. | Mr Paisley, who will be 82 in April, took the post of first minister in May 2007 following the suspension of direct rule after a period of five years. |
| He said he would continue to serve as an MP and an MLA for his North Antrim constituency. | He said he would continue to serve as an MP and an MLA for his North Antrim constituency. |
| "I came to this decision a few weeks ago when I was thinking very much about the conference and what was going to come after the conference," he said. | "I came to this decision a few weeks ago when I was thinking very much about the conference and what was going to come after the conference," he said. |
| "I thought that it is a marker, a very big marker and it would be a very appropriate time for me to bow out." | "I thought that it is a marker, a very big marker and it would be a very appropriate time for me to bow out." |
| New leader | |
| While it is expected that his current deputy Peter Robinson will succeed him as party leader, Mr Paisley said it was up to the DUP to make the decision. | |
| "This is not the Church of Rome," he said. | "This is not the Church of Rome," he said. |
| "This is not Apostolic succession and I have no right to say who will succeed me. | "This is not Apostolic succession and I have no right to say who will succeed me. |
| "The person will succeed me when the mark is on the paper and the ballot is cast. | "The person will succeed me when the mark is on the paper and the ballot is cast. |
| "Whoever that will be will have my support and encouragement and if he wants to take my advice, he will get that advice if he asks for it, but I will not be sitting like Putin in Russia saying to the president 'This is the way you have to go'. | "Whoever that will be will have my support and encouragement and if he wants to take my advice, he will get that advice if he asks for it, but I will not be sitting like Putin in Russia saying to the president 'This is the way you have to go'. |
| "When I make a break, it is a break." | "When I make a break, it is a break." |
| The deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, paid tribute to Mr Paisley for his role in bringing about power-sharing in Northern Ireland. | |
| "This historic decision he took to go into government with Sinn Fein has changed the course of Irish history for ever," he said. |