Carla Lockhart quits DUP and will sit as an independent MP

Carla Lockhart, the MP for Upper Bann in Northern Ireland, has resigned from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and will sit in the House of Commons as an independent, meaning she is not aligned with any party.

In a personal statement published on 2 November, Lockhart said she had told the party leader, Gavin Robinson, of her decision. She said her decision to leave was made on a point of principle.

According to RTÉ, she resigned over the DUP's handling of the fallout from the Drumcree parading dispute, a long-running disagreement over the routes of Orange Order marches in Portadown. Lockhart had already stepped down from a party role earlier in the autumn. On 27 October she resigned her position as a DUP party officer, an internal post within the party.

Robinson responded to the news publicly. He said he is "very sorry" that Lockhart has quit the party, according to the BBC.

Lockhart has insisted that she makes her own decisions, the BBC reported.