NORTHERN IREAND Assembly members will today gather at Stormont to pay tribute to former First Minister David Trimble whose funeral took place last yesterday.
At the special sitting which will being at noon, MLAs will also observe a minute’s silence and sign a book of condolence in memory of Trimble who was one of the key architects of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.
He died last week aged 77 after a short illness.
Led by Speaker Alex Maskey at Tuesday's sitting, MLAs will also sign a book of condolence.
Several political leaders attended his funeral yesterday, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Lord Trimble led the UUP from 1995 to 2005 and was the first person to serve as first minister of Northern Ireland.
The assembly will also sit again on Wednesday to try to elect a new Speaker.
The assembly has not been sitting as a result of the DUP refusing to elect a speaker following May's elections.
It refuses to re-enter power sharing in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
At the funeral service of Mr Trimble yesterday, Reverend Dr Charles McMullen appealed at the funeral service for politicians to use the occasion as inspiration to redouble their efforts to resolve their differences over the protocol.
He said:
“Can we use this service today, in a fitting tribute to one of the great, to redouble our efforts on this island home of ours?
“With courage, pragmatism and generosity of spirit, may our politicians engage wholeheartedly in resolving the outstanding issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, so that our democratic institutions are quickly restored and we can all move forward together.”
