DUP conflict: MLA backs calls to remove Michelle O'Neill as first minister

DUP split over Drumcree

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Diane Forsythe has joined her party colleague, MP Carla Lockhart, in calling for Stormont First Minister Michelle O'Neill to be removed from office. This is reported by BBC News. Forsythe said the promised 'serious consequences' for the Sinn Féin vice-president's actions over the parade dispute in Drumcree 'must be delivered'.

The essence of the conflict

Unionist discontent was triggered by O'Neill's participation in the protests on Garvaghy Road, which blocked a contentious Orange Order parade along a predominantly nationalist street in Portadown, County Armagh. O'Neill and several other senior Sinn Féin figures were interviewed by police, who are investigating the demonstrations; unionists accuse the party of acting outside the law. O'Neill herself, Sinn Féin's deputy leader, defended her participation in the protests last month, saying she would 'continue to stand with the residents of Garvaghy Road'.

Positions within the party

Last week Lockhart resigned from the DUP officers' board in disagreement with party leader Gavin Robinson's decision not to remove the deputy first minister from the coalition executive — a step that would automatically have cost O'Neill the joint office. Robinson said he was 'sorry' to see Lockhart leave the board, but that she remains 'a key part of our team'. He said the party had made a democratic decision on how to respond to the fallout from Drumcree, and he questioned whether it was right to 'punish everyone in Northern Ireland rather than punish those who broke the law', adding that 'all options remain on the table'.

Forsythe's demands

In a Facebook post on Monday evening, Forsythe, who represents the South Down constituency and sits on the party's officer board, said she was 'pleased' to support Lockhart at a recent rally in Portadown. She accused Sinn Féin of 'arrogance' and described the unionist community's anger over O'Neill's actions as 'immense'. In her view, O'Neill should be removed from office, while the assembly and other ministerial posts continue to function until the next election. If no 'meaningful action' follows, the 'minimum' should be an immediate halt to the first minister's official engagements through the joint office of the executive.

Image source, PA Media