The DUP has pledged to seek legal advice and fight on after the Assembly voted by 71 votes to 28 to reinstate Mr Seamus Mallon as Deputy First Minister at Stormont yesterday. The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said the actions of the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, combined with the Alliance Party motion to reappoint Mr Mallon had "stood democracy on its head".
"We know that Mr Mallon had not just offered his resignation. He lost his money, he lost his car and he lost his office. His resignation was accepted by the then Secretary of State, Dr Mowlam. So it was not an offer of resignation, it was an actual resignation," Dr Paisley told journalists outside the main chamber.
He said his party felt "insulted" by yesterday's proceedings concerning Mr Mallon and would be seeking legal advice on the matter. "The speaker should have challenged Mr Mallon's reinstatement in our name, but he was shouted down by the SDLP and Sinn Fein. Why are they afraid of the courts?"
He said his party's motion on Sinn Fein's exclusion was defeated because "Trimbleite" unionists had made common cause with republicans. "Mr Trimble should not have aimed to be voted in by the back door," he added. Dr Paisley denied accusations the DUP had been wasting everybody's time, saying the party had followed the appropriate parliamentary procedures. "Today we have exposed the skulduggery of Mr Trimble, of Sinn Fein and even of the Secretary of State himself in a reasoned, able and professional manner," he said.
According to the DUP leader, the party is not looking forward to being on the Executive. "We are only there to prevent Sinn Fein from getting extra seats and we are there to prevent any moves towards a united Ireland."
His words were echoed by his party colleague, Mr Peter Robinson, who was appointed Minister for Regional Development. "I will use every ounce of my power and influence to frustrate and thwart Northern Ireland being pulled into a united Ireland," Mr Robinson pledged.
The leader of the UK Unionist Party, Mr Robert McCartney, said the amendment regarding Mr Mallon's reinstatement undermined a central principle of the entire political process, the principle of consensus.
"For the Secretary of State, at the stroke of a pen, to abolish the central principle of consensus for political expediency is a disgrace to the house," he added. Mr Cedric Wilson, who leads the anti-agreement Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP), said his party was determined to "demolish" the power-sharing government.
"We will not be giving any credibility to the structures being put in place today and will be giving no assistance to any group that wants to participate in it. In my party we have another agenda, to demolish and bring down this affront to democracy."
Both the DUP and the NIUP later condemned the appointment of Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, as Minister for Education.
The DUP's security spokesman, Mr Gregory Campbell, said Mr McGuinness's appointment was "absolutely unacceptable".