A memorial stone placed in the grounds of Stormont without permission to mark Northern Ireland's centenary has been removed.
The small block of granite was unveiled by a group of loyalists at the weekend near Edward Carson's statue.
It included a plaque with an Ulster banner emblem, a quote attributed to James Craig and separately the words, "For God and Ulster."
The Department of Finance, which manages the Stormont estate, said the memorial stone has since been removed.
"Permission was not sought for this and it was subsequently removed," a spokeswoman said in a statement.
TUV's John Ross, the party's Assembly candidate for East Belfast, was among those who attended the unveiling of the memorial.
Earlier this year unionist parties had proposed placing a Northern Ireland-shaped stone at Stormont to mark the centenary, but the idea was blocked by Sinn Féin.
Unionists accused the party of a "shameful exercise" in vetoing the proposal but Sinn Féin said the plan "reflected one political perspective".
Sinn Féin also later vetoed Stormont's Parliament Buildings joining a UK-wide illumination of civic buildings as part of the British government's official Northern Ireland centenary commemorations.
And the party blocked a DUP bid to light up Belfast City Hall to mark 100 years since the formation of Northern Ireland.
DUP councillor Brian Kingston criticised Sinn Féin's vetoing of the proposed illumination as "petty and pathetic".
But Sinn Féin claimed the plan was "political and triumphalist" and the decision "disregarded" council procedures.
