ONE of the most divisive figures in Northern Ireland politics, Ian Paisley, has died following a long illness, it was confirmed yesterday.

The former leader and founder of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Mr Paisley was reviled by nationalists and republicans as a sectarian bigot whose incendiary rhetoric deliberately exacerbated tensions.

His establishment of an armed paramilitary organisation, the Third Force, as well as his frequent and vitriolic attacks on the Catholic Church and his infamous “Save Ulster from Sodomy” campaign did little to change that opinion.

However, he had huge support within sections of the unionist community who saw him as a bulwark against republicanism and a defender of Protestant values.

Ian Paisley was elected to Westminster in 1970 as the Unionist MP for North Antrim. Two years later he founded the DUP, which he led until 2008.

In 1979 he was elected to the European Parliament where his views on the Catholic Church again caused controversy — most notably when he denounced Pope John Paul II as the “anti-Christ” in 1988.

For decades The DUP leader refused to countenance any form of negotiation with Sinn Fein. His total intransigence on this and many other issues led to him being given the soubriquet “Dr No.”

He played a key role in orchestrating the Ulster Workers’ Council Strike which brought down the Sunningdale power-sharing agreement in 1974 and was vehemently opposed to the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement.

However, in 2007, despite having refused to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement, the DUP entered into a power-sharing agreement with Sinn Fein with Mr Paisley in the role of first minister and Martin McGuinness as his deputy.

Even this move was divisive, with some seeing it as a genuine Damascene-style conversion, while others saw it as merely a way to cement his legacy.

Mr McGuinness yesterday expressed regret and sadness at Mr Paisley’s death.

He said that despite spending decades as opponents: “In the brief period that we worked together in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister I developed a close working relationship with him which developed into a friendship which, despite our many differences, lasted beyond his term in office.”

First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson said that during the height of the Troubles, the “sure and certain ring” of Ian Paisley’s voice had a “special resonance” with the people of Northern Ireland.

“I don’t think that there’s anyone who has had more influence in Northern Ireland over the years,” Mr Robinson said.

“Even those who thought the least of his politics thought the most of him as a person.”

Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan said Mr Paisley would be remembered as “someone who opposed initiative after initiative, who brought down various unionist leaders and contributed to many lost years and lost opportunities, only in the end to accept things that he had always opposed, but actually to work within them with some grace.”