DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his door is open to North Down councillor Wesley Irvine, who has resigned from his party.

       Mr Irvine voiced his support for independent MLA Alex Easton, who quit the DUP last July after Sir Jeffrey was ratified as leader.

       He said internal divisions and a slow reaction to the Northern Ireland Protocol were harming the DUP, especially in working class loyalist areas.

       Sir Jeffrey said he regrets Mr Irvine’s decision and that his door remains open to both him and Mr Easton.

       “Given his employment, working for Alex Easton, I think he was placed in a precarious position where he was having to campaign for his employer, and at the same time, be the secretary of our Constituency Association and Wesley felt the only way he could resolve this was to step aside from his membership of the party at this time,” he said.

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       “My door is open, our door is open and I hope, in time, that Wesley and indeed Alex will see the importance of unionists standing together at this time.”