Diane Forsythe, a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member, has publicly supported MP Carla Lockhart's call for the removal of Stormont's First Minister Michelle O'Neill. Forsythe cited "immense" anger among unionists over O'Neill's involvement in protests related to the Drumcree parading dispute, emphasising that promised "profound consequences" must be honoured. The protests, which blocked an Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, have led to police interviews with O'Neill and other Sinn Féin figures amid unionist accusations of unlawful conduct.
The dispute has caused internal tensions within the DUP, with Lockhart resigning from the party's officer board after party leader Gavin Robinson declined to remove the deputy first minister to pressure O'Neill. Forsythe suggested that without meaningful action, official engagements by O'Neill as first minister should cease immediately. Robinson acknowledged Lockhart's resignation but affirmed the party's democratic approach and the need to focus on those who broke the law rather than punishing the wider community.
Read the full story: BBC UK News.
Source: BBC UK News. Aggregated summary, not independent reporting.