FORMER NORTHERN IRELAND First Minister Arlene Foster is set to join the House of Lords, the UK’s upper house of parliament.

She has been named as part of a list of 26 people becoming members of the house.

Foster was leader of the Democratic Unionist Party from December 2015 until April 2021, when the party’s MPs and MLAs brought a vote of no confidence against her.

In a statement, current DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson said he was “delighted that our friend and former First Minister Rt Hon Dame Arlene Foster has been conferred a peerage and will sit in the Lords”.

“Arlene will be a strong voice for Northern Ireland and this is rightful and worthy recognition for her contribution and service to Northern Ireland. We look forward to working closely with her in the time ahead.”

Peter Weir, a former education minister in Northern Ireland, is also set enter the House of Lords after being nominated by the DUP.

Winston Churchill’s grandson Nicholas, who was expelled from the Conservatives by Boris Johnson for rebelling on Brexit, was also on the list.

The UK’s King Charles conferred the peerages on the recommendation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, further to advice from former PM Boris Johnson.

Former Tory MP Nicholas Soames, former deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson and Stewart Jackson, another former MP and a special adviser at the Department for Exiting the European Union, are also among the new members.

Additional reporting by Press Association