DUP MP CARLA LOCKHART QUITS PARTY OVER DRUMCREE ROW RESPONSE

Carla Lockhart has resigned from the Democratic Unionist Party over its handling of the Drumcree parading dispute, saying she was leaving on "a point of principle". The Upper Bann MP said the party's response had "fallen far short of the profound consequences promised" that she had set out in a letter sent on 29 October. She will continue to sit in the House of Commons as an independent unionist MP. Lockhart called the resignation "a sad day and a deeply personal decision" reached after "much reflection".

The dispute follows protests on Garvaghy Road in Portadown, County Armagh, that blocked an Orange Order parade from passing through the mainly nationalist area. First Minister Michelle O'Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures have been interviewed by police investigating the protests, with unionists accusing the party of acting unlawfully. O'Neill has defended her involvement, saying it was "the right thing to do". Lockhart had called for the DUP to withdraw deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly from the joint Stormont office, a step that would have automatically forced O'Neill from her role. The DUP stopped short of that move but announced last week it would end joint engagements involving O'Neill.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson did not go as far as Lockhart had demanded over O'Neill's position. The DUP said in a statement: "We regret Carla Lockhart's decision to resign from the Democratic Unionist Party." Lockhart said she also had concerns over the implementation of the Irish Sea border, and said Sinn Féin "wilfully ignores the rule of law". She said she looked forward to "working with all shades of unionism, elected or not, to advance the cause we love".