Michelle O'Neill defends Sinn Féin decision on Martina Anderson

Martina Anderson will not be contesting the next assembly election

Michelle O'Neill has defended how Sinn Féin handled the restructuring of its team in the Foyle constituency.

The family of Martina Anderson said she had been "humiliated" by the party, which asked her to consider her position as an assembly member (MLA).

She and Karen Mullan, the party's other Foyle MLA, have confirmed they won't stand in the next assembly election.

On Wednesday, Ms O'Neill said Sinn Féin had to take action following "damage" in previous elections.

In a Facebook post, Ms Anderson's sister, Sharon Burke, said the family believed she had been "sacrificed" by the party.

She said the party review in Londonderry "resulted in a massive miscarriage of justice" and the way it was done was "brutal".

The party "came into Derry to fix problems and left creating more," she said.

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One of Sinn Féin's most high-profile figures, Ms Anderson has represented the party as an MLA, junior minister and MEP since 2007.

'Restore confidence'

"We needed to do something to fix that, we need to restore confidence in the Sinn Féin team in the Foyle constituency," party vice-president Ms O'Neill said.

"We believe the change we're going to bring forward will hopefully command the confidence of the people of Foyle."

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The deputy fist minister added: "Both Martina and Karen will be part of that change, but there's work to do in terms of building confidence."

Ms O'Neill described Ms Anderson as a "first class republican" and that she had worked with the party's review group to shape its recommendations.