On Monday, Basil attended the Ulster Unionist Assembly Group meeting which unanimously empowered our Assembly Commission representative to discuss the issue of flying the Union flag at Parliament Buildings.
Within 48 hours he was quoted in a newspaper as saying “it was not the right time” to do what he had endorsed. 24 hours later, he described Monday’s decision as a “stupid idea” on live radio.
Basil’s inability to exercise self-discipline or demonstrate the basic characteristics of teamwork are doing enormous damage to the Ulster Unionist Party.
For the reasons of lack of self-discipline and teamwork, and for those reasons only, he has left me no choice but to remove the Party Whip with immediate effect.