* Northern Ireland's former top Tory, Dr Laurence Kennedy, is leaving

the Province to take up a consultant's post, he said last tonight.

Dr Kennedy, 45, of Holywood, County Down, said: ''This is a career

move. The fact that I was disillusioned with the politics of Northern

Ireland was fairly apparent six months ago.''

That was when he resigned his seat on North Down council. He was

frequently critical of aspects of the party's national policy in

Northern Ireland.

Dr Kennedy, a founding member and former chairman of the Conservative

Party in Northern Ireland, was forced to quit as a consultant at the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, two years ago because of fears for his

safety.