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| I have no major regrets - Paisley | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Northern Ireland first minister Ian Paisley has been explaining his decision to step down from the post. | |
| In an interview for the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, the 81-year-old said he was no longer a young man and his ambition now was to write a book about himself. | |
| He said he had no "major regrets" and had never shaken hands with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness because it would have been a "farce". | |
| He said he and Mr McGuinness had had a very good working relationship. | |
| 'Full marks' | |
| With his trademark honesty, he told Andrew Marr he was a "sinner, saved by the grace of God". | |
| "I have my faults, which are many, which I lament. I want to do the best for my country," he said. | |
| "And I want to say that I believe that when I helped to get a settlement for the Northern Ireland situation, I was only a helper. I mean I don't deserve all the praise". | "And I want to say that I believe that when I helped to get a settlement for the Northern Ireland situation, I was only a helper. I mean I don't deserve all the praise". |
| Mr Paisley announced last Tuesday that he would stand down as first minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in May. He has the DUP leader for almost 40 years. | |
| He knows I'll not be shaking hands with him and that's it Ian Paisley | |
| He went on to tell the BBC that he and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness enjoyed a "very good" working relationship. | |
| "And I think that when you look back at what we have achieved and what we're doing, I think you have to give us full marks," he said. | |
| "And I don't think that the present agreement has to do with the personalities of the leaders. I think it's to do with the fact that this is the only way we can go. And if we don't go this way others will take it out of our hands and they'll go whatever way they want." | |
| Mr Paisley said he had a "very good" relationship with Mr McGuinness | |
| Their relationship has seemed to thaw to such an extent that the pair had been nicknamed "chuckle brothers". But he still has not shaken hands with his deputy and said he will never do so. | |
| "I made it clear to him that handshaking was a bit of a farce in this country," he said. | |
| "I've seen all the leaders shaking hands. And then going out to drive a bayonet into the back of the person they've shaken hands with. He knows I'll not be shaking hands with him and that's it." | |
| Andrew Marr also asked Mr Paisley how he could reconcile working Sinn Fein, the party he wanted to "smash". | |
| "I did smash them because I took away their main plank," he said. | |
| "For their main plank was that they wouldn't recognise the British Government. Now, they're in part of the British Government." | |
| Mr Paisley added now that Sinn Fein had accepted "the right of Britain to govern this country", they cannot be "true Republicans". | |
| He became first minister in May 2007 following the suspension of direct rule after five years. | He became first minister in May 2007 following the suspension of direct rule after five years. |
| There has been much speculation as to whether he was pushed into resigning. | There has been much speculation as to whether he was pushed into resigning. |