Former Justice Minister David Ford has resigned his seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly after 20 years as MLA for South Antrim.

The former Alliance Party leader took on the difficult role in 2010, becoming Northern Ireland’s first justice minister since direct rule from Westminster was imposed in 1972.

Mr Ford stayed in the role until the 2016 elections, after which he stepped down and was eventually succeeded by independent unionist Clare Sugden, who served for less than a year before the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017.

The ex-minister told BBC News: “I think given now I’m a couple of years past the retirement age, it’s the right time to leave.”

Mr Ford added that the collapse of the Assembly would mean his replacement as MLA would be able to get “established” and “can be read to go when the Assembly is restored”.

The Alliance Party has selected John Blair, a councillor in Antrim and Newtownabbey, to replace Mr Ford as MLA for South Antrim.