Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy was taken to hospital today after falling ill following the British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's labour Party conference speech.
Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy is carried into an ambulance outside the conference hall in Brighton
Mr Murphy was forced to put off his own speech this afternoon as doctors carried out tests.
He chatted to paramedics as they stretchered him from the Brighton conference hall and party sources said he had simply felt 'queasy' as he sat with fellow Cabinet ministers during Mr Blair's keynote address.
Mr Murphy was given a heart scan before being taken to hospital. Paramedics subsequently ruled out a cardiac problem but the politician was detained in hospital for routine tests.
A spokesman for Mr Murphy said: "He was feeling unwell earlier today and he felt a lot worse straight after the speech. He was stretchered out as a routine procedure but everything is fine now. It is categorically nothing to do with his heart. It was a funny turn."
Mr Murphy will deliver his speech, updating delegates on the Ulster peace process, later in the week, the spokesman said.
PA