Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has sensationally lost his seat in east Belfast.

The MP, whose wife Iris quit in disgrace as MP for Strangford after admitting to an affair, was beaten by the Alliance Party's Naomi Long, the lord mayor of Belfast, to leave Democratic Unionist Party supporters gasping in disbelief.

Mr Robinson's support was expected to dip because of his involvement in a controversial land deal, but nobody - not even in the Alliance Party - expected this result which represented an unbelievable 22.9 per cent swing in support.

The defeat was a stunning setback for Mr Robinson who had held the seat since 1979. It was confirmed just minutes after his colleague Ian Paisley Jnr took over from his father as MP for North Antrim.