Trimble insists manifesto has full support
The Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble is insisting all the UUP candidates in the General Election are standing fully behind the party election manifesto.
At the launch he insisted the absence of several prominent critics was more by accident than design.
Among those missing were the Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, the Stormont junior minister Dermot Nesbitt, William Ross, William Thompson and the Reverand Martin Smyth.
Mr Trimble says the manifesto, which includes a warning that there must be moves to address the decommissioning issue rather than bury it, reflects concern about the Good Friday Agreement.
At the weekend the DUP attempted to steal Mr Trimble’s thunder by producing leaked copies of the document and claiming it was a blank cheque to republicans.
