DUP MP Carla Lockhart has resigned as a party officer amid a deepening row with the leadership over the future of Stormont.
Ms Lockhart's move, first reported by the Belfast Telegraph, comes after a difference of opinion with DUP leader Gavin Robinson on whether the party should withdraw deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly from the powersharing executive.
Disagreement Over Executive Withdrawal
The Upper Bann MP has argued that the party should pull Ms Little-Pengelly from her post, which would automatically remove Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O'Neill from her position in the joint office they lead together.
Ms Lockhart believes the party should no longer serve alongside Ms O'Neill after the Sinn Féin vice president took part in an allegedly unlawful protest on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown last month.
Ms O'Neill attended a police station in Belfast on Wednesday for an arranged interview with officers investigating the unnotified protest, staged as part of efforts to stop an Orange Order parade proceeding down the predominantly nationalist road from nearby Drumcree Church.
Leader's Response
Mr Robinson was asked about Ms Lockhart's resignation as a party officer as he appeared on BBC NI's The View programme on Thursday evening.
"I'm sorry to see that it's occurred," the party leader replied. "I appointed Carla to the party officers. She remains a key part of our team."
Mr Robinson said his party was democratic and it had come to an "agreed position" not to pull Ms Little-Pengelly out of the Executive. Asked if he thought Ms Lockhart may ultimately quit the party entirely, Mr Robinson said: "I hope that's not the case."
He said he was not going to criticise Ms Lockhart, insisting she still had a "valuable contribution" to make to the DUP.
Confidence Question
Earlier on Thursday, Ms Lockhart was asked whether she had confidence in Mr Robinson's leadership. She declined to directly endorse him, instead replying to BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show: "I have confidence that the unionist people want action."
Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Ms O'Neill were both interviewed at Musgrave PSNI station on Wednesday over their participation in the Portadown protest. The senior republicans were among several Sinn Féin politicians to receive letters from the PSNI asking them to attend for interview. Politicians from other parties also received letters.
Under parading laws in Northern Ireland, protests must be notified to, and approved by, the Parades Commission adjudication body. Police are carrying out an investigation into the unnotified protest on the Garvaghy Road on the day the Drumcree parade was meant to proceed and said invitations to attend interviews had been sent to individuals "reasonably suspected of committing offences".
A Parades Commission decision to allow the Orange Order parade to proceed down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years prompted a two-week stand-off at the site of what was a notorious parading flashpoint during the Troubles.
The parade was ultimately unable to take place because of significant numbers of protesters on the Garvaghy Road, leading Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to overturn the commission's decision and ban the procession. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has previously made it clear there would be "consequences" for those found to have broken the law.
