91�ȱ�

Jonathan Buckley will be the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) candidate for Lagan Valley in the forthcoming general election, interim leader Gavin Robinson has said.

He is running for the party after Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's shock departure in March.

Sir Jeffrey had held the seat for 27 years, but is not standing again after facing historical sex charges which he has said he is strenuously contesting.

Speaking at DUP headquarters on Friday, Mr Buckley said that he was "delighted to have been selected by the party to run in Lagan Valley".

"More seats, means more influence and that's certainly what the DUP will continue to deliver," he added.

Mr Buckley is currently the MLA for Upper Bann.

The Alliance Party has confirmed that Sorcha Eastwood, also an MLA, will be its candidate for Lagan Valley in the 4 July poll.

The Ulster Unionist Party's Robbie Butler, an MLA, is also standing in Lagan Valley in the General Election.

A full list of candidates will be published after nominations close.

Analysis: Gareth Gordon, 91�ȱ� News NI political correspondent

Gavin Robinson's first big decision as interim DUP leader reveals him to be an unlikely gambler.

Not long ago Jonathan Buckley was his rival for the post of DUP deputy leader.

Now he's handed him the vital task of saving the seat held by the former party leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for 27 years.

Win and it will be a masterstroke.

Lose it will amount to cataclysmic failure.

Buckley is only 32 (he was the DUP's youngest MLA when first elected in 2017).

Now he has to move from the comfort zone of Upper Bann for the fight of his young political life.

The alternatives were Education Minister Paul Givan, who did not want it, and Emma Little-Pengelly whose recent rise in popularity, as revealed in a Lucid Talk poll for the Belfast Telegraph, means pairing her with Michelle O'Neill as deputy first minister is paying off.

Removing her from Stormont with the Executive still bedding down would have been just as big a gamble.

Jonathan Buckley is from the opposite wing of the DUP from Gavin Robinson. He was Edwin Poots' chief of staff for his short reign as leader.

Supporters of the Alliance candidate, Sorcha Eastwood, will hope his selection will galvanise support for her. But equally so would Paul Givan who is from the same wing of the party as Mr Buckley.

For now Mr Buckley's fate is entwined with that of Gavin Robinson in a way neither can have seen coming before the downfall of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.