Live updates

Martin McGuinness condemns Co Armagh 'explosion'

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has condemned a reported explosion in Lurgan, County Armagh.

Mr McGuinness wrote on Twitter:

Martin McGuinness resigns as MP to concentrate on Stormont politics

Martin McGuinness, left, engaged in an historic handshake with the Queen in June. Credit: PA

Martin McGuinness has resigned as Mid-Ulster MP.

He said this was in line with Sinn Fein's commitment to end double jobbing and planned to concentrate on his job as Stormont MLA and deputy First Minister.

Francie Molloy will run for the seat in his place.

Mr McGuinness said: "I am resigning as MP but I have no intention of leaving Mid-Ulster. South Derry and East Tyrone have suffered immensely as a result of the conflict.

"I will always be grateful to the people of this area for trusting me to represent them and their interests.

"I will of course continue to represent the Mid-Ulster constituency in the Assembly. I am honoured to do so both as an MLA and as deputy First Minister in equal partnership with Peter Robinson."

He was elected MP for Mid-Ulster in 1997.

Advertisement

Clinton praised for 'instrumental' role in peace process

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Credit: ITV News

The First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson praised US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her "instrumental" role in the peace process.

He said: "Very often, we will sit down, and somebody will mention someone who has claimed to be instrumental in the peace process, and Martin and I look at each other, and say 'Do you know them?'

"But you are one person who has consistently helped us. You have been a great friend to Northern Ireland."

McGuinness reveals discussions in meeting

Referring to the assassination off Co Sligo in the Irish Republic, he said he told the royals that he recognised they had lost a relative.

"I said to the Queen and the Duke they too had lost a loved one," he said.

Mr McGuinness revealed some of the detail of the private meeting during a talk show on RTE television.

The killing was discussed briefly after an historic handshake between the pair which has been hailed as a watershed moment in Anglo-Irish relations.

Mr McGuinness has not discussed any of the detail of the meeting until now. When he left the theatre he would only say that the Queen was very nice and that he was still a Republican.

McGuinness discussed Queen's loss

Sinn Fein chief Martin McGuinness told the Queen that he recognised she suffered loss in the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The Stormont Deputy First Minister revealed that he addressed the 1979 IRA murder of her cousin Earl Mountbatten when he met her privately in Belfast last Wednesday.

Her Majesty shakes hands with Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Belfast.
Her Majesty shakes hands with Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Belfast. Credit: Paul Faith/PA Wire/Press Association Images

The former terror commander said the Queen was very gracious about what he said.

Mr McGuinness said he would not detail exactly what he said during the eight minute discussion in the Lyric Theatre, which the Duke of Edinburgh also attended, or how the Queen responded.

Huge crowds greet The Queen at Stormont

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour the grounds of Stormont in Belfast
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour the grounds of Stormont in Belfast Credit: Press Association
Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said it a moment "that will shine in our collective memory"
Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said it a moment "that will shine in our collective memory" Credit: Press Association
The Queen's visit to Stormont came at the end of a two-day Jubilee visit
The Queen's visit to Stormont came at the end of a two-day Jubilee visit Credit: Press Association

Advertisement

Most people are happy after McGuinness handshake

by - Royal Correspondent

Twenty thousand people have gathered for a garden party with the Queen this afternoon and I think if we spoke to them, then the overwhelming majority are happy with what happened; welcome that handshake and see it as good step for the future of this country.

Having said that there are others who don't, dissident Republicans who feel that Martin McGuinness has sold out, and that Sinn Fein is doing this purely for political purposes.

There are also families who have suffered at the hands of the IRA. People who have lost husbands and wives, sons and daughters, who find it very uncomfortable to see a former commander of the IRA shaking hands with the British Queen.

Load more updates

Advertisement

Today's top stories