Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson steps down
Stormont coalition kept alive in ‘zombie form’ after DUP leader says Arlene Foster will be acting FM but three other ministers will resign over IRA row
Peter Robinson will be replaced as temporary first minister by his DUP colleague Arlene Foster. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Peter Robinson will be replaced as temporary first minister by his DUP colleague Arlene Foster. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams confer before speaking to the press on Thursday. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Northern Ireland’s first minister has stepped down from the region’s power-sharing government on the brink of collapse over police allegations that the IRAstill exists.
Peter Robinson’s announcement came after his Democratic Unionist party, the largest at Stormont, was defeated in a vote to suspend the assembly for emergency talks to take place.
