UUP to hold conference in nationalist area of Derry

The Ulster Unionist Party is to hold its annual conference inside the historic walls of Derry next autumn.

The Ulster Unionist Party is to hold its annual conference inside the historic walls of Derry next autumn.

It will be the first time the party has held its annual policy-making meeting on the nationalist-dominated "city side" since 1905.

The new Millennium Forum will be the venue for the October 19th conference, which will be attended by up to 1,000 party members.

For the last two years the UUP has held its annual conference in Belfast's Waterfront Hall, and the last one held in Derry was in 1998, when the venue was in the Waterside area of the city.

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A PSNI spokesman said that detailed planning would take place to ensure adequate security for the event.

"We will complete a detailed risk-assessment report and adequate resources will subsequently be put into place to ensure everything passes off without incident and with the minimum disruption," the spokesman said.

A UUP spokeswoman said the party was looking forward to the conference.

"We have plenty of supporters on the west bank and we want them to remember that we haven't forgotten them and that we will continue to fight their corner," she said.

"It is highly significant that we have decided to hold our conference on the west bank for the first time in almost 100 years."