Questions have been raised in the British House of Commons over the position of Gerry Adams, amid confusion over whether he has resigned as an MP.
The Sinn Fáin leader, who plans to stand for election in the Louth constituency, resigned his West Belfast seat in a letter to Commons Speaker John Bercow.
But under parliamentary procedures, a resigning MP must apply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for an office of profit under the Crown, which makes the person ineligible to sit in the Commons.
The two sinecures used are that of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (Stoke, Desborough and Burnham), currently held by former MP for Strangford Iris Robinson, and Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
Once an application is made for one of them, an MP's membership of the Commons automatically lapses.
Tonight the British Treasury confirmed it had not received an application for the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
The Speaker's office confirmed this meant that Mr Adams remained the MP for West Belfast. A spokeswoman said: 'The situation has not changed.'
But a Sinn Féin spokesman said: 'As far as we are concerned Gerry Adams has resigned. He submitted his letter of resignation to the Speaker.'
During a point of order in the Commons the DUP's Ian Paisley asked Mr Bercow if he had received a resignation letter from Mr Adams and when he would be 'instructing him of his obligations as a Member of this House'.
Mr Bercow said he would not comment on correspondence with the Speaker as it was private, but he added: 'There are procedures to be observed and observed they must be.'
If Mr Adams were to go through the full parliamentary procedure and apply for one of the Crown offices, another party would to have to move the writ in the Commons to bring about a by-election - as Sinn Fein MPs refuses to enter the House of Commons.
