The former Conservative minister, Mr Norman Tebbit has urged voters in South Antrim to support the Ulster Unionist Party candidate, Mr David Burnside.
Lord Tebbit said yesterday that unionists must return a strong candidate to Westminster in order to avoid Northern Ireland edging "into the Republic". He argued that Mr Burnside would have considerable influence in the House of Commons and in London.
In an article taking up two-thirds of a page in the Belfast Telegraph and headlined "Why I'm Backing David Burnside", Lord Tebbit said Mr Burnside "knows the ways of Westminster and the people there who matter".
The article went on: "He is respected by those worthy of respect and feared by those not worthy of respect themselves. He will not be like some other Northern Ireland MPs who speak only on parochial matters. Despite losing friends to terrorist guns and bombs, I believe he has the courage to work the harder for real peace - not just a broken-backed ceasefire -in Northern Ireland."
This ringing encomium was dismissed, however, by the DUP. A spokesman for the Rev William McCrea described Lord Tebbit as one of "yesterday's men", and said that next week, some very senior figures who were "today's men", and whose names he would not disclose, would be endorsing Mr McCrea.
Mr McCrea was scathing about Mr Burnside's influence. "The easiest place to hide away from the needs of your constituents is at Westminster or of course in the much bragged-about boardrooms of London," he said.
Mr Burnside repeated that he was standing on a platform of uniting unionism. He warned that the unionist middle classes were being "turned off by this politics of division".
But Mr McCrea accused Mr Burnside of seeking to "change horses in midstream" by now stating he would oppose the Belfast Agreement, although he voted for it in the referendum two years ago.
"In his feverish attempt to fool the electorate and endeavour to gain some support for his faltering South Antrim campaign, he has sought to ditch the "yes men" and is pleading ignorance for his voting yes in the referendum," added Mr McCrea.
The Alliance candidate, Mr David Ford, said the UUP vote was being "squeezed", as he put it. "But that is entirely the fault of those who selected David Burnside. His position on the agreement was ambivalent at the start of the campaign and he has moved further into the no camp over recent days," he added.
"I know from my contacts on the doorsteps in different areas of Newtownabbey and Antrim that people do not want an MP who doesn't know where he stands. That is why people have told me - and told the UUP - that they will vote Alliance to show their support for the agreement," said Mr Ford.
