Sinn Fein has rejected SDLP claims that the party can win a Westminster seat in West Tyrone after selecting the Stormont Agriculture Minister to run in the constituency.
Announcing her candidacy, Ms Brid Rodgers said she was confident of winning the seat from anti-agreement Ulster Unionist MP Mr William Thompson. She said Mr Joe Byrne, the SDLP candidate in the 1997 election, had asked her to run, with the full backing of the constituency party.