Hunter to stand for DUP

Andrew Hunter has been an MP since 1983

Conservative MP Andrew Hunter is to quit Westminster to stand in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Hunter, who sat on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee until last year, will be representing the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Ian Paisley.

It is thought he will be put forward for selection in the Lagan Valley constituency.

The announcement came on Wednesday after the MP sent a letter to Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith to say he was quitting the commons at the next general election.

He said: "As you know, I have a long-standing and deep interest in the affairs of Northern Ireland.

I'm very sorry that Andrew has decided to retire from Westminster

Iain Duncan Smith

"It has been suggested that I stand for the Northern Ireland Assembly in the elections next May as a DUP candidate."

Mr Hunter, who was elected to Westminster in 1983, said he would become an independent Conservative for the remainder of this Parliament, as under the Tory constitution he would be unable to stand for Stormont.

"I wish to assure you that in practice this will make little difference," he said in the letter.

"I remain one of your most loyal supporters and I shall continue to support you in the House of Commons."

He added that his wife Jan's poor health from cancer was a further reason for standing down.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "I'm very sorry that Andrew has decided to retire from Westminster politics but I fully understand his reasons.

"I wish his wife Jan a full recovery and hope they will be very happy in their retirement in Northern Ireland where Andrew has shown a deep commitment for many years.

"I appreciate the dignified way that Andrew has conducted his announcement - he will always be a friend of the party and a friend of mine."

DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson confirmed Mr Hunter was seeking nomination to run in the assembly.

"Andrew will be a terrific addition to our team," said the East Belfast MP.

"I think it is a measure of the man that he could have remained for many years an MP in Basingstoke but he feels so strongly about Northern Ireland that he is prepared to contest an election here because of what has happened since the Anglo Irish Agreement."