Blair: Paisley to go down in history for big yes

Ian Paisley will go down in history for saying yes to power sharing at Stormont with Sinn Fein, Tony Blair said yesterday.

Mr Paisley announced yesterday he would stand down as Northern Ireland first minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after dominating politics in the province for 40 years.

Mr Blair said the founder of the DUP – originally the Protestant Unionist Party – would be remembered for his agreement to powersharing, after previously even refusing to be in the same room as Sinn Fein representatives.

Speaking on BBC Two's Newsnight, the former PM paid tribute to Mr Paisley and the journey he made through his political career.

He said: "The man who, in a sense, was the person famous for saying no will find his place in history for having said yes and made it happen.

"When people look back on it, the change that he made, and the journey that he made personally, was then expressed in the changes he was able to bring in Northern Ireland."