Edwin Poots Comments Expose DUP Disinformation on Union Flag on Stormont
06 December 2012
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Edwin Poots’s call on this morning’s Nolan Show that the Union Flag should fly from Parliament Buildings every day of the year exposes the fact that previous claims by his party about this issue were simply not true.
“On 1st October Jonathan Bell claimed in the Assembly that this was as a result of regulations brought in under Direct Rule. This nonsense has been repeated by several DUP representatives in different media outlets. This morning Mr Poots claimed that it was the fault of the Ulster Unionists under David Trimble and the DUP now hope to change the situation.
“Interestingly, this comes after I had it confirmed in an answer to an Oral Question to the Assembly Commission on Tuesday that the 2000 Flag Regulations Order, with its designated days, does not apply by law to Parliament Buildings, but rather, the Assembly Commission - which has a unionist majority in its voting arrangements - chooses of its own volition to apply the 2000 Regulations, whereas, it could make its own policy and decisions on flying the flag.
“At the time I noted that:
"This blows out of the water the DUP pretence that Direct Rule and the NIO are responsible for the Union flag flying only on the designated days at Stormont! It is Stormont itself which so decides. Moreover, it emerged today that despite the public utterances of protest from DUP MLAs, including Mr Peter Robinson, not a single step has been taken to even raise the issue of the absence of the flag on Ulster Day in the Assembly Commission - and, of course, not a single DUP MLA has signed the Assembly motion which I tabled calling for the flying of the flag on Ulster Day - only David McNarry, David McClarty and representatives of the UUP have added their names.
"One of the most startling revelations today from the Commission is that it is not the NIO, but OFMDFM which annually notifies them of the designated days they have decided on! So, again, the DUP, it seems is right at the heart of the decision-making on what days the flag flies.”
“It is time for the DUP to come clean on this issue and admit that they have been engaged in a campaign of disinformation on this issue before the facts were brought to light”.
