Julian Robertson, of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, has criticised Martin McGuinness’s “knee jerk reaction” to the PSNI investigation into Constable Ronan Kerr’s murder. But he also said that the DUP was guilty of hypocrisy when Lord Morrow accused Sinn Féin of sending out “mixed messages” on policing.
“It’s a case of the same old predictable, entrenched stuff from Sinn Féin and the DUP”, Julian commented, “Martin McGuinness is playing to the republican gallery when he criticises the PSNI for making arrests and raiding premises, as it investigates the disgraceful murder of Constable Ronan Kerr.”
“On the other hand Lord Morrow can hardly talk about ‘double standards’ or ‘mixed messages’ when his party is guilty of exactly the same thing. When loyalists rioted in Ballyclare at the start of July, Morrow’s colleague William McRea was quick to point the finger of blame at the PSNI. Both parties are guilty of using the PSNI as a political football and pandering to prejudice.”
“What we need is genuine, wholehearted support for law and order - whichever so-called community it is applied to. The constant sectarian score-keeping and knee jerk reactions have to stop. The PSNI has a difficult job to do and it does it very well. We all need to give the police our full support rather than using them to notch up political points.”