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[JohnCenaFan28]

Conservative leader David Cameron got a rapturous reception at the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) conference after promising to bring Northern Ireland into the heart of UK politics.

He was keynote speaker at the event in Belfast to mark the decision of the two parties to form a new political alliance which will see candidates fielded in Northern Ireland on a joint ticket.

Mr Cameron said he wanted to move away from orange and green politics, but he sparked loud applause when he overturned Conservative rhetoric from the peace process to declare he had a `selfish and strategic interest' in Northern Ireland.

"Northern Ireland has made great strides forward over the past fifteen years," he said. "The paramilitary campaigns have ended. New investment has come in. Devolution has been restored. For the first time in over a generation we can all look forward to a shared future underpinned by democracy and the rule of law."

Mr Cameron said he would fulfil obligations under the Good Friday agreement to work with the Irish Republic, but he told the 700-800 delegates: "But I will never be neutral when it comes to expressing my support for the Union. So, today, let us pledge ourselves to come together as Conservatives and Unionists in a new and dynamic political force in Northern Ireland. For the good of our parties. But, above all, for the good of the people and our United Kingdom."

The Tory leader cited the impact of republican violence, including the murders of MPs Ian Gow and Airey Neave, while also recalling the children Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball killed in the IRA bombing of Warrington.

He said Northern Ireland bore the brunt of the Troubles, but he added: "We were all in it together. And we came through it together. So for me coming here and joining our parties is not a matter of political calculation. It's about strengthening those unbreakable bonds that bind our union."

In 1990 the then Conservative Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Brooke helped launch the peace process by insisting the British government had "no selfish strategic interest" in remaining in Northern Ireland if the people opted for Irish unity.

Today Mr Cameron used the phrase to insist he wanted to see people from Northern Ireland to be at the centre of the UK's political future.

"It's in my own selfish and strategic interests, too," he said. "I want the most talented people to form my government and that will mean people from all corners of the UK. It's time for Northern Ireland to be brought back into the mainstream of British politics."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The position of Commons Speaker Michael Martin was further eroded after a Labour MP called for him to quit over the police raid on the offices of Tory frontbencher, Damian Green.

Bob Marshall-Andrews said that Mr Martin had lost the confidence of the House after he allowed police to enter the Commons without a search warrant and should now go.

The veteran leftwinger is the first Labour MP to call publicly for the Speaker to stand down. Two Tory MPs have already said that he should resign.

Mr Marshall-Andrews said that Mr Martin's handling of the affair represented a "deplorable breach of his duties" to the House of Commons.

"That is very serious and, frankly, I do not think he can continue," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He was particularly scathing about Mr Martin's attempt to pass responsibility for what happened to the Serjeant at Arms, Jill Pay, who signed the consent form allowing police to enter the House and search Mr Green's office.

"She told the Speaker throughout. It is the Speaker's responsibility," Mr Marshall-Andrews said.

"One of the worst things about this was the nature of the statement that he made which was a straightforward passing of his responsibilities to the Serjeant at Arms. He knew what was happening and he should have taken action to stop it.

"In those circumstances, the confidence of the House goes and without the confidence of the House he cannot do his job."

However former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said that Mr Martin was unlikely to be forced out. He said that the Government would be determined to avoid a by-election in Mr Martin's Glasgow North East constituency after Labour's loss of Glasgow East earlier this year.

-Nova