History ‘will be kind’ to Foster, says successor

The man who replaced Arlene Foster as DUP leader has said that history “will be kind” to his predecessor.

Edwin Poots was the first party leader to pay tribute to the departing first minister after her resignation. Mrs Foster stared straight ahead with her arms folded during his speech.

The new DUP leader congratulated Mrs Foster on a “hugely successful” career. He added: “I believe history will be very kind to Arlene, it should be very kind to her because she has done a considerable course of work in ensuring that we move forward.”

Earlier, Mrs Foster said she would now spend more time with her family “whether they like it or not”.