Statement by TUV South Antrim Assembly candidate Richard Cairns:
“Arlene Foster’s comments about feeding the Republican crocodile need to be put in context. The ultimate act of appeasement to Sinn Fein/IRA was when the DUP deemed them fit partners for government. Ever since then Stormont has only operated because Sinn Fein believed that it was serving their purposes.
“The DUP has already shown remarkable ability to bend when it comes to the Irish Language with Paul Givan miraculously discovering £50,000 for a project after days of saying the money wasn’t there and that Irish already received preferential treatment without it.
“Similarly, Sinn Fein have forced considerable movement from the DUP down though years on issues on which the DUP said they wouldn’t move.
“In July 2006 Dr Paisley promised that Sinn Fein would only be in government “over our dead bodies”.
“Yet by October 2006 we had the St Andrews Agreement which paved the way to the DUP/Sinn Fein government.
“In May 2006 Nigel Dodds said that the prospect of policing and justice being devolved was “so remote that it is difficult to envisage when it might happen”.
“Yet in 2010 policing and justice powers were devolved with the agreement of the DUP.
“When it comes to the DUP people should always ask how long “never” really means.”