The Democratic Unionist MP for the area, Iris Robinson, described the murder as "an horrific attack".

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While the body politic was still absorbing them, however, the Iris Robinson affair erupted on an astonished public.

ECONOMIST: Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson's maternal instincts soon began to be replaced by more intense feelings and by mid-summer, Mrs Robinson, then aged 59, had begun a sexual relationship with Kirk, then 19.

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The MP Iris Robinson made headlines internationally for drawing freely on the language of the King James Bible in her description of homosexuality and suggesting that gay people can be "cured".

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Previous winners of the Stonewall Bigot of the Year award include Daily Mail columnists Melanie Phillips and Jan Moir, Tory MP Chris Grayling and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party MLA Iris Robinson.

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Among the events considered were the meeting of Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley last March, Devolution Day on 8 May, Iris Robinson being ejected from Stormont, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness at Wall Street with President Bush and the resignation of Ian Paisley Jnr.

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An estate agent by profession, Peter Robinson married Iris Collins in 1970 - the partnership later took on political as well as personal significance, when the two became a husband and wife team at Westminster.

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Peter Robinson's position remains uncertain as pressure mounts on him concerning his involvement in his wife Iris's financial dealings.

BBC: Woodward warns Robinson crisis must not derail assembly