Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:
 
"The convicted murderer Mary McArdle should never have been in post, so her leaving is long overdue. Her appointment and tenure was a dastardly insult to both the Travers family and all innocent victims.
 
"The fact that she was appointed in the first place, that another such appointment could be made and that at least one other convicted person acts as a publicly paid Special Adviser in Stormont, underscores the need for my Private Members Bill which will come before the Assembly later in the year."