Derek Hussey: Ulster Unionist councillor suspended after candidate row

Last year Derek Hussey accused Doug Beattie of being "dictatorial"

An Ulster Unionist councillor has been suspended after a row in the party over the appointment of an assembly election candidate.

Last year, Derek Hussey accused party leader Doug Beattie of being "dictatorial" in selecting Ian Marshall to stand in West Tyrone.

Mr Hussey said another candidate, Andy McKane, had been unanimously chosen by the constituency association.

The UUP has said it does not comment on internal party matters.

• Former Irish senator Ian Marshall joins UUP

Mr Hussey, who is also a former assembly member, told Belfast Live he had been directed to a disciplinary committee in the party after making his comments in November.

In that statement, he had accused the party leadership of overriding the constituency association's decision to back Mr McKane as the West Tyrone candidate, saying Mr Beattie had sought to import Mr Marshall from outside the constituency".

Ian Marshall was the first unionist elected to the Seanad

Earlier this month, Mr McKane announced he had left the party over the issue.

Mr Marshall, a former Ulster Farmers Union president from County Armagh, joined the party in July and was made its West Tyrone candidate in October.

In 2018, he became the first unionist elected to the Seanad (Irish Senate), but he lost his seat in 2020.

In October, Mr Beattie denied suggestions that Mr Marshall had been "parachuted in".