Former senior police officer selected to fill UUP Assembly seat

A former senior police officer has been selected to fill an Ulster Unionist Party Assembly seat in North Antrim.

Jon Burrows was selected after an internal party process on Tuesday.

Former North Antrim MLA Colin Crawford resigned earlier this year after less than a year in the role.

The seat was previously occupied by former health minister Robin Swann, who left Stormont last year following his election as MP for South Antrim.

It is understood that two other candidates were interviewed.

During his career of more than 20 years with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Mr Burrows was Foyle area commander and a chief inspector.

In a post on the social media network X, Mr Burrows said it “will be the honour of a lifetime to serve the people of North Antrim as their next MLA; I won’t let them down.”

“I look forward to being in Stormont and providing that scrutiny that we need to ensure that Northern Ireland gets the absolute best governance possible so it is the best place possible that we can live, socialise, work, raise a family and start a business,” he said.

“Next week, I’ll be signing in at Stormont and I’ll be up in North Antrim to meet the constituents and get started at work.”

Earlier in a statement, the Ulster Unionist Party said: “After a rigorous internal selection process with independent oversight, we can now confirm that Jon Burrows has been selected to fill the vacancy of North Antrim MLA.

“We would like to thank Colin Crawford for his dedicated service to the Assembly over the last year and wish him well with future endeavours.”

Chairman of the North Antrim UUP Association Brian Thompson welcomed the selection of Mr Borrows, saying he was an “exceptional individual”.

“I want to start by thanking Colin for all of his efforts over the last year and wish him well,” he said.

“We also want to thank all those who put their name forward and took part in the selection process.

“We are delighted to have Jon on board. Jon is an exceptional individual who has been appointed as the new MLA for North Antrim, and we look forward to working with him over the coming weeks and months ahead.”