Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr David Trimble began moves today to expel rebel MPs Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, the Reverend Martin Smyth and Mr David Burnside from the party.
He announced that a special disciplinary committee had been set up to deal with the three who resigned the party whip at Westminster in protest at the leadership's policy on the peace process.
|
|
UUP leader Mr David Trimble began
moves today to expel three rebel MPs from the party. |
Mr Trimble, speaking after a party officers' meeting at UUP headquarters in Belfast, said: "This hasn't been a good week for unionism I think the decision taken by the three gentlemen on Monday have triggered a crisis within the party and has left the party with no alternative but to respond in the way that it has."
He said the decision to begin disciplinary proceedings was an inevitable consequence of the three MPs' onslaught on the party's policies and leadership.
"Perhaps there might now be a period of reflection by them when they see what the consequences are but at the end of the day people do have to decide whether they are going to be members of the party, whether they are going to follow through that membership by supporting that party," he added.
"We can't be expected to indefinitely put up the situation where there is a party within a party."
The disciplinary committee will be chaired by solicitor Mr Raymond Ferguson, a member of the party.
|
Mr Trimble said that it would be in the best interests of the party for the matter to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
He said he had made considerable effort over the last five or six years to give people latitude and to tolerate attacks against his leadership.
"That tolerance can only go so far and after what happened on Monday, we had no alternative but to take the step as we did today."
Any decision made by the disciplinary committee to expel the three MPs will have to be ratified by the 110-strong Ulster Unionist executive.
But Mr Donaldson has already hinted that the matter could ultimately go before the 816-member Ulster Unionist council.
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams said he could not wait for the crisis in unionism to be resolved in order to press ahead with the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Adams told reporters after a meeting with the Taoiseach in Dublin: "We have to go forward on the basis that people either have rights and entitlements or they don't."
He said he had stressed that Assembly elections must go ahead this autumn."We are putting an awful amount of work on the ground trying to ensure that this summer is peaceful and is calm," he said.
"Really unless this limbo land is brought to an end the process continues because of our stamina and the stamina of other players."Time is running out to introduce legislation in the House of Commons to facilitate an October election to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Burnside warned today.
Ulster Unionist Mr David Burnside is one of three rebels who resigned the party whip at Westminster in protest at the leadership's policy on the peace process.
Today the Antrim South MP told the Commons: "Earlier this week half the parliamentary Ulster Unionist Party resigned the whip because our party does not oppose the joint declaration from the British and Irish governments."
PA