AFP, BELFAST: Northern Ireland’s first minister threatened to resign on Thursday over alleged Irish Republican Army (IRA) activity, in a political crisis that could roll back progress made since the end of the conflict. Peter Robinson said he and fellow ministers from the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) would quit unless the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, which would put the power-sharing executive on the brink of collapse.
His comments came after a senior figure in Sinn Fein, which governs alongside the DUP and wants Northern Ireland to become part of Ireland, was arrested in connection with the shooting of a former IRA gunman last month.
Sinn Fein was the political wing of the IRA during some 30 years of sectarian violence known as The Troubles, which was largely brought to an end by a peace deal in 1998.
The DUP has said that the murder of Kevin McGuigan in Belfast indicates that the IRA is still active, although Sinn Fein strongly denies this.
“The DUP has made it clear it will not be involved in business as usual,” Robinson said.
“If others want the assembly to function normally in spite of Sinn Fein’s position, we will have reached the point where, as a last resort, we will take this final step.”