The messy split between Doug Beattie and the UUP

If breaking up is hard to do, in the case of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) right now that saying couldn't seem to be further from reality.

Anyone who has been keeping even a vague eye on the workings of the UUP knew Doug Beattie's "Dear John" letter was coming sooner than later.

And in his letter to said "John", in this case party leader Jon Burrows, there was no holding back.

He didn't write this expression, but he might as well have put: "It's not me, it's you."

What has been talked about privately and off the record between party sources and journalists in recent weeks has now exploded into full public view as Beattie ended his relationship with the UUP after 12 years.

Using words like "vindictive" and "insidious", he painted a brutal picture of how he feels he has been treated by the UUP's management.

A source familiar with the issues said that last Wednesday Beattie abruptly left the party's WhatsApp group chat for assembly members (MLAs) - perhaps an indication of what was to come.

In his letter, Beattie revealed that the final straw for him was the party's intention to "reopen" a disciplinary matter against him over historical social media posts - something Beattie said he had already dealt with four years ago.

The UUP leadership hit back with a strongly worded 'diss' statement of its own, claiming that the party had been looking into issues around Beattie's "conduct and judgement" and had been preparing to take action on Monday.

In other words, getting ready to dump Beattie first by, it is understood, suspending him from the party.

Events of Sunday afternoon have now well and truly overtaken that process.

As political break-ups go, it is a nasty one and leaves plenty of questions for journalists to ponder in the days ahead, such as:

How will other UUP MLAs react and will they recognise Beattie's account of deteriorating relations with the party leader?

Given the party's board was preparing to suspend Beattie, how does the UUP respond to his belief that it was already seeking to push him out?

As for the Upper Bann constituency selection meeting due later in June, will the party still pick two candidates to run against Beattie - who is expected to stand as an independent in the assembly election next May?

What does the debacle say about the direction the party is moving in when one of its most moderate MLAs has upped and quit?

While some in the UUP will be happy that Beattie is gone, his departure could make life difficult for the party in attempting to retain their Upper Bann seat.

And that presents a risk for Jon Burrows, who this time last year wasn't even in frontline politics and has much to prove in next May's election.

His difficulty as leader will be navigating through this messy split.

Doug Beattie is a decorated former military officer who served as leader of the UUP from May 2021 to September 2024.

He was born on an Army base in Hampshire in 1965 where his father was serving in the Royal Ulster Rifles.

The family later moved back to Portadown, County Armagh, and Beattie left school at 16 with no formal qualifications.

He followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Army, serving in Kosovo, east Africa and Iraq as well as completing three tours of duty in Afghanistan.

In 2005 he was commissioned as an officer at the rank of captain.

For his actions in fierce fighting over several days in 2006 he was awarded the Military Cross - the third-highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.

After retiring from the Army, Beattie joined the UUP and was elected as a councillor in 2014.

Two years later he stood for election to the Northern Ireland Assembly, winning a seat in Upper Bann.

When he took over as UUP leader in 2021 he became the fourth person to hold the role in just four years.

In the months that followed, the UUP overtook the larger Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in opinion polls - a trend the media dubbed the "Beattie Bounce".

But by January 2022 he faced accusations of misogyny and racism over a number of his historical tweets.

He admitted the tweets were "pretty horrific" and that he was ashamed by them, but denied being a racist or misogynist.

He continued to lead the UUP for another two and half years until August 2024, when he announced he was stepping down, citing "irreconcilable differences between myself and party officers".

Beattie continued to represent the party as an assembly member, serving under its leaders Mike Nesbitt and Jon Burrows, until he quit the party on Sunday.