Pressure grows on Robinson to resign as wife receives psychiatric treatment

Published on Sunday 10 January 2010 22:25

THE Northern Ireland first minister's wife is receiving "acute psychiatric treatment" after the exposure of her affair with a toyboy lover.

A Democratic Unionist Party spokesman said the information on Iris Robinson was being disclosed after speculation about her health and whereabouts.

Pressure is growing on Peter Robinson to resign, and former First Minister Lord Trimble said he had lost his authority.

Mrs Robinson, 61, secured 50,000 from developers to help her 19-year-old lover set up a restaurant business in south Belfast. She was expelled from the DUP at the weekend and is expected to step down at Stormont and as an MP at Westminster within days.

Lord Trimble said: "To sit as leader in a party where the party summarily expels his wife without giving her any hint of due process or a soft landing is someone without authority in his own organisation."

He said he expected Mr Robinson to resign within the next few days, before adding: "If he is going to fight to clear his name, then the place to do that is from the back-benches."

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward warned Mr Robinson's resignation could trigger an early Assembly election.

However, DUP finance minister Sammy Wilson insisted Mr Robinson still commanded support. He said: "As far as I am concerned he has got support, the stories about Iris don't impugn him," he said as he went to church in north Belfast, where Mr Robinson also attends.

If Mr Robinson resigns, the post of first minister and deputy first minister, held by Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, would have to be filled because of legislation governing the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Sinn Fein could delay nominating unless the DUP agreed to a timescale for the devolution of policing and justice from London to Belfast. If this was not resolved within seven days it would fall to Mr Woodward to call an election.

Mr Woodward said: "In those circumstances the Secretary of State is bound by legislation to set a date for election."

Mr Robinson has vowed to clear his name after vehemently denying any knowledge of his wife's irregular financial affairs. Critics say if he did know about his wife's activities he should have reported them to the parliamentary authorities.

Mr Woodward refused to speculate about Mr Robinson's future, but insisted the devolution process was "bigger than one man". He said: "It is a responsibility on everyone in the Assembly to understand that the consequences of allowing the political process to slide would undoubtedly have an impact on the broader canvas."

East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell has said the matter should be resolved within a week after Mr Robinson called in independent lawyers to investigate his conduct.

Mrs Robinson announced over Christmas that she was quitting politics because of severe depression. But she and her husband have since been plunged into crisis following the revelations.

A party source said: "The next few days are absolutely critical for the party. We wanted to show people we were acting decisively. There was no question about it: she had to go and go now. There was absolutely no sympathy for the position she found herself in."

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said they were focusing on ensuring the political institutions worked. "The failure of the DUP to fulfil its political commitments and work the political institutions, as it agreed, on the basis of partnership and equality, has led to a considerable lack of public confidence in the political institutions," he said.

"This is not about the Robinsons' private family matters. Sinn Fein respect their right to privacy. It is about implementing outstanding political agreements that are essential to good government and public confidence."