Veteran republican Gerry Kelly says he will not contest next Assembly election

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

Veteran republican Gerry Kelly will not contest the next Stormont Assembly election.

Tributes were paid to the North Belfast representative for Sinn Féin, who has been an MLA since 1998, as he announced his retirement.

Prior to his political career, Kelly was a member of the Provisional IRA and was convicted, alongside others, in 1973 of the bombing of the Old Bailey.

He went on to be part of a mass break-out from the Maze Prison in 1983.

Following his release from prison, Kelly became a negotiator for Sinn Féin in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement negotiations.

First Minister and Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill said she wanted to thank Mr Kelly for his “decades of dedicated service and commitment to Irish Unity”.

“Gerry has given a lifetime of service and commitment to the cause of Irish unity,” she said.

“He has shown great leadership as part of the Sinn Féin team across North Belfast, which has grown considerably in recent years.

“Sinn Féin is now in the process of candidate selection in a number of constituencies.”

Kelly said it had been “the greatest honour to serve the people of North Belfast as an elected representative since 1998”.

“I will continue to fulfil that important role as an MLA up until the Assembly election next year,” he said.

“I am immensely proud to have played a part in Sinn Féin’s journey of delivering real progress, building the peace process, securing the Good Friday Agreement through to the historic appointment of Michelle O’Neill as the first republican First Minister in a state designed to prevent this happening.

“We are in a time of exciting change as we look forward to building a new and United Ireland.”