Mr Robinson said,
“I have been inundated with people from across Fermanagh & South Tyrone calling for a non-party aligned pro-union candidate. The DUP has not contested this Westminster seat since 2005 despite being the largest party in the constituency.
Last week, when I became aware of people offering to run as a non-party candidate, I reached out to the UUP and TUV leaders to encourage them to follow our example and withdraw in favour of an agreed candidate.
Contrary to the UUP statement, the DUP engaged in discussions about an agreed unionist candidate in Fermanagh & South Tyrone last year, long before any election was called. Indeed, we even challenged the UUP leadership about publicly announcing a candidate before those talks had concluded.
The people of Fermanagh & South Tyrone should know who was interested in returning a pro Union voice to Westminster and those advancing selfish party interests, especially if there is a hung Parliament and Fermanagh & South Tyrone are once again left voiceless.”