Northern Ireland First Minister and DUP leader, Peter Robinson, has criticised the decision by the Ulster Unionist Party to leave the Northern Ireland Executive.

Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Robinson says now is not the time to exit the battlefield.

The First Minister says the political crisis calls for "cool heads, clear thinking and a steely resolve to ensure democracy and the rule of law triumph over terror and murder".

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin is also criticising the UUP, saying it's using the deaths of Kevin McGuigan and Gerard Jock Davison as an excuse to leave the power sharing government.

Sinn Féin Laois Offaly TD Brian Stanley says the UUP wanted to leave Stormont before the murders: