A loyalist councillor will this morning begin court proceeding to try and remove Gerry Adams as MP for West Belfast.
Shankill councillor Frank McCoubrey is seeking leave for a judicial review in the High Court to have the Sinn Féin leader removed as MP on the grounds that he has denied Protestants in the constituency the human right of proper political representation in the House of Commons.
It is understood the test case, which could potentially impact on each of Sinn Féin's four northern MPs, will centre on the argument that by failing to take his seat at Westminster because of Sinn Féin's refusal to take an oath of allegiance to the Queen, Mr Adams has disenfranchised voters in the West Belfast constituency.
Sinn Féin MPs were entitled to use facilities in Westminster up until 1997 when then Speaker Betty Boothroyd barred access to any MP not willing to take the oath.
However, in December 2001 Westminster MPs voted by 322 to 189 to lift the ban and since then Sinn Féin has been entitled to offices at Westminster.
Confirming his intention to initiate legal proceedings against Mr Adams, Mr McCoubrey said: "I am confident that we have strong legal grounds to have Gerry Adams removed as MP for West Belfast."
"The fact that he refuses to take his seat in Westminster means that the electorate in west Belfast are being denied the basic human right of having the proper political representation which they are entitled to in the House of Commons."
