Hain leads praise for Paisley's 'courage and vision'
The “absolutely historic role” played by the Rev Ian Paisley in restoring devolved government was praised by former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain tonight.
Mr Hain worked very closely with the politician, who has announced he will step down as the North's First Minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in May.
He said: "He played an absolutely historic role in ending the deadlock and establishing permanent devolved government and deserves enormous credit for the courage and vision he showed.
“I am sure that the decision he has taken will be the best one for his family as a very close family man. I wish him all the best for the future.”
He went on: “I worked very closely with him leading up to this; we got on extremely well.”
