Northern Ireland: First Minister's wife under psychiatric treatment

Iris Robinson is being treated after revelations she had an affair with a lover 40 years her junior and secured 50,000 pounds from two wealthy developers to help him set up a restaurant.

She is quitting her seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the House of Commons, and pressure is mounting on her husband to resign over allegations about how much he knew about his wife's financial dealings.

Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), moved to quash speculation about 60-year-old Iris' whereabouts, saying: "Iris is receiving acute psychiatric treatment from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust."

His wife has been suffering from acute depression.

Her former lover, Kirk McCambley, now 21, has refused to comment on the allegations.

Robinson has vowed to clear his name, but one of his predecessors as leader of the semi-autonomous province said Sunday his position was becoming untenable.

David Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his efforts to bring stability to Northern Ireland after three decades of violence, predicted in a BBC interview that Robinson would quit in the "next few days".