The exchanges between Traditional Unionist Values leader Jim Allistair and the Democratic Unionist Party are so incendiary I need a lawyer to report the details.
The TUV leader is expected to rip into his former colleague Peter Robinson in his annual party’s conference address.
The irony is – it was Peter Robinson who prompted the renaissance of Mr Allistair having persuaded him to abandon his career as a barrister to become active again in DUP politics.
The former European assistant to Ian Paisley won the nomination to stand for election and recorded an even higher vote than his old boss in the European election.
In the meantime Mr Allistair parted company with the DUP when Mr Paisley and his colleagues went into government with Sinn Fein.
In the recent European election Jim Allistair lost his seat to Sinn Fein’s Bairbre de Bruin.
Mr Allistair habitually targets Mr Robinson hitting him where it really hurts.
The DUP leader is said to be annoyed because of the perception that he has been financially corrupted in some way.
One DUP insider said “Peter knows he can do nothing about this perception even though he believes he has always acted correctly as an MP.”
The DUP have been itching for a long time to hang allegations of financial abuse on Jim Allistair.
DUP attempts at briefing members of the media against Mr Allistair on the expenses issue have not stuck.
The knives are out again on this thorny issue between the DUP and Jim Allistair.
This is dangerous territory from a journalist’s point of view.
This will probably come as light relief to Sinn Fein which has been taking a kicking from the DUP which has been refusing to allow the devolution of policing and justice powers to take place.
