'My health has nothing to do with' resignation: McGuinness; Arlene Foster 'disappointed' at move

Update 8pm: Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD has said Martin McGuinness has today taken decisive action in resigning as deputy First Minister as a result of the DUP's handling of the RHI scandal and attitude to power sharing.

Speaking following the resignation of Martin McGuinness as deputy First Minister, Deputy Adams said: “Martin McGuinness has led from the front in the Executive for the last ten years, defending the integrity of the political institutions and realising the potential of the Good Friday Agreement.

“He has worked with successive DUP leaders and is recognised throughout the north, across Ireland, and across the world for his leadership and peacemaking.

“In spite of the provocation, disrespect, and arrogance from the DUP and the failures of the British government to fulfil its responsibilities over that time, Martin McGuinness has always put the people and the political process first.

“This is in contrast to the DUP who have been acting to undermine equality and partnership.

“The money squandered in the RHI project belonged to unionists as well as other taxpayers. It is money which should have been used to end poverty and disadvantage or to build public services. No minister responsible for such bad governance in any other administration would be still in office.

“Today, once again, Martin McGuinness has taken decisive action to bring the RHI scandal, and the DUP's attitude to the political process, to a head.”

Update 6pm: The North's First Minister Arlene Foster has said: "I am disappointed that Martin McGuinness has chosen to take the position he has today [ie to resign].

"His actions have meant that, at precisely the time we need our government to be active, we will have no government and no way to resolve the RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) problems.

"It is clear that Sinn Féin’s actions are not principled…They are political.

"Let me make it clear the DUP will always defend unionism and stand up for what is best for Northern Ireland and it appears from the Deputy First Minister’s resignation letter that is what annoys Sinn Féin the most."

Update 5.10pm: Martin McGuinness, his voice cracking, said he had informed the North's First Minister Arlene Foster of his decision to resign at 1.30pm today, and insisted his health had nothing to do with the decision.

"We in Sinn Féin will not tolerate the arrogance of Arlene Foster and the DUP," he said. "I believe today is the right time to call a halt to the DUP's arrogance."

The Sinn Féin veteran said his health had not influenced his decision and said he had been deeply involved in his party's response to the affair.

"My health is absolutely nothing to do with this whatsoever," he said.

He said a decision on whether he would stand in the next election was an issue for "a later date".

Mr McGuinness cited other disputes with the DUP, including over the Irish language and stalled mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, in explaining the move.

He said the DUP were living in a "Fool's Paradise" if they thought they would be able to return to government with Sinn Féin after an election if the RHI issue was not resolved.

Update 4.50pm: The current political crisis in the North proves that Sinn Féin and the DUP cannot work together, according to the Ulster Unionist Party.

UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said the two parties are incapable of compromise.

He said: "They have no concept of the greater good. If there's to be any good coming out of an election, if we're to have one, it's that people can decide not to re-elect the parties of government, but to give the parties of the opposition a chance."

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Irish Government appeals for calm after shock McGuinness resignation

Update 3.45pm: Martin McGuinness has not confirmed whether he will run in any up-coming election in the North.

His resignation today as the North's Deputy First Minister effectively colllapses the Stormont Executive, and is effective from 5pm.

He announced his resignation as the North's deputy First Minister in protest at the DUP's failure to accept the principles of power-sharing and parity of esteem and their handling of the so called "ask for cash" crisis (explained below).

An election must be called in seven days if - as Mr McGuinness says it will - Sinn Féin refuses to nominate a replacement for him.

Speaking afterwards, he said: "Whether or not I will be a candidate (in any forth-coming election) is something I will come back to on a later date. Today is about my resignation.

"There will be no return to the status quo, except on terms that are acceptable to Sinn Féin."

Mr McGuinness's move comes hours after Mrs Foster accused him of playing a political game of chicken and warned she would not blink first.

"If he is playing a game of chicken, if Sinn Féin are playing a game of chicken, and they think we are going to blink in relation to me stepping aside they are wrong - I won't be stepping aside," she said, adding: "And if there is an election, there is an election."

While Sinn Féin had been due to formally call for Mrs Foster to step down in an Assembly debate next week, there had been speculation the party would pull the plug earlier.

Mr McGuinness, who has been experiencing health problems, confirmed that on Monday afternoon.

"It is my firm view that the DUP's handling of this issue has been completely out of step with a public mood which is rightly outraged at the squandering of public money and the allegations of misconduct and corruption," he wrote in his resignation letter to the Assembly's speaker.

"The public are demanding robust action and accountability but the DUP, in particular its leader Arlene Foster, have refused to accept this."

The structure of Stormont's Executive Office means a First Minister cannot hold the position without a co-equal Deputy First Minister. Mr McGuinness's resignation means Mrs Foster will no longer be First Minister.

Earlier:

Martin McGuinness has tendered his resignation Deputy First Minister in the North.

The resignation is effective from 5pm today. The move is likely to prompt a snap election in the North.

Mr McGuinness had recently been at odds with First Minister Arlene Foster in the so-called 'cash for ash' controversy in the North, in which businesses received cash incentives to switch from burning fossil fuels to wood biomass heating.

It is estimated the scheme has overspent to the tune of an estimated £490m.

Ms Foster, who presided over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme when she was Economy Minister, has refused to step down while an investigation takes place. Sinn Féin had called on her to step aside to allow a probe.

In his resignation letter, Mr McGuinness accuses the DUP of never fully embracing the all-Ireland principles of the Good Friday Agreement, further accusing it of "shameful disrespect" towards marginalised communities, including LGBT people.

However, he clearly says the ultimate reason for his decision to step down is Ms Foster's refusal to do so herself.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) paid out more than the fuel cost, meaning users could earn more the more they burned, leading to claims of an "ash for cash" scam of heating buildings unnecessarily.

Mr McGuinness said the public was "rightly outraged" that the RHI scheme had been conducted as it was, at the "squandering of public money and the allegations of misconduct and corruption".

He said Ms Foster's refusal to step aside while an inquiry was conducted was "neither credible nor tenable".

@M_McGuinness_SF letter page 1 pic.twitter.com/z1vlUgR0tF

— Mark Devenport (@markdevenport) January 9, 2017

Mr McGuinness said he had a "binding obligation" to uphold issues of equality and therefore it was with "deep regret and reluctance" that he was resigning.

Sinn Féin will not nominate anyone to take over from him, effectively triggering an election in the North.

@M_McGuinness_SF letter page 2 pic.twitter.com/nrORvuVE1Z

— Mark Devenport (@markdevenport) January 9, 2017