UUP: Jon Burrows denies intervening over Doug Beattie candidacy

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Jon Burrows has said he "did not personally intervene" over one of his predecessors facing deselection. Last week it emerged that former leader Doug Beattie was not expected to be chosen as the party's candidate for Upper Bann in next year's Northern Ireland Assembly election. Burrows said the constituency association has now decided to run two candidates instead of one, with a selection meeting due to be held in June. The UUP leader said he had not "fallen out" with Beattie and described him as an "exceptional politician". Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show, Burrows said the selection process would be "fair and transparent". "There is a process, it's laid down in rules and I don't have a role in that process until the very end where there's a ratification," he said. Burrows said he "did not personally intervene" and "didn't influence anyone else to intervene" in the move to run two candidates instead of one. "There's a lot of press speculation so I'm only going to deal in facts," he said. "The association initially was going to choose one candidate. The association has now chosen to run two candidates. "Neither of those candidates have