Arlene Foster brands Alliance the ‘nasty party’ in Twitter spat

Former first minister Mrs Foster, who also led the DUP for a number of years, provoked an equally caustic response from the Alliance leader during a sporadic exchange of tweets that spanned almost 24 hours.

The row began on Wednesday when Mrs Foster reposted a tweet from someone who said: “If the DUP doesn’t want to play ball, the government needs to change the rules ... three years of Sinn Fein throwing its teddy out of the pram for whatever, and no recollection of Alliance wanting the rules changed to address a lack of Executive.”