The Rev Ian Paisley is to step down from ministry in the Free Presbyterian Church at the end of the year.

Dr Paisley, now Lord Bannside, announced his decision before his congregation in the Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast.

He founded the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 following a split from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

He was the breakaway denomination’s moderator for more than four decades, until he was succeeded by the Rev Ron Johnstone in 2008.

In the same year, Dr Paisley, 85, stepped down as DUP leader and retired as MP for North Antrim in the same year after 40 years.

He told his congregation he plans to write an autobiography.

He was quoted as saying by the BBC: “I will be telling some stories that will make some people laugh and others blush.”

Dr Paisley is due to oversee his last service in the church next month.