Ian Paisley’s party affiliation has been changed on the British Parliament website from being a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to ‘Independent’.
The North Antrim MP is set to serve a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons after he failed to declare two free luxury family holidays to Sri Lanka.
Mr Paisley has also been suspended from the DUP pending the outcome of a further investigation.
A spokeswoman for the House of Commons said the change in his status on their website was standard procedure.
She said: “If an MP is suspended by their party, they are classed as an independent MP.”
A DUP spokesman said: “The party officers suspended Ian Paisley from membership of the party pending further investigation into his conduct. Issues relating to the House of Commons website are a matter for the Parliamentary authorities.”
Mr Paisley could face a by-election if he is recalled under the terms of the Petition of Recall Act of 2015.
The law gives constituents the power to recall their MPs, with an election triggered by at least 10% of the electorate in the constituency signing a petition.
With 75,478 constituents in Mr Paisley’s North Antrim constituency, 7,547 signatures would be required to trigger a by-election.
-Agencies
