Two senior UUP figures back DUP candidate

In a surprise move, former leader of the UUP James Molyneaux and South Belfast MP Martin Smyth have endorsed the DUP candidate in South Belfast, Jimmy Spratt. The two men appeared in an election leaflet for the DUP man and Smyth said he would would "make an excellent member for Parliament".

Spratt is hoping to win South Belfast from the UUP`s Michael McGimpsey. In the Assembly election there was just 1,940 votes between the UUP and the DUP. In what will now be a tight race, Sinn Féin and the SDLP will be watching the situation closely.