Statement by Lagan River TUV council candidate Samuel Morrison:
“I welcome the fact that the Sinn Fein motion before Queen’s Student Council to ban the sale of poppies was so emphatically defeated tonight.
“There should never have been any question of the sale of poppies being banned. It is a symbol which reminds us of the sacrifice of the 16th Irish Division as much as that of the 36th Ulster Division.
“However, the actions of the IRA – particularly in Enniskillen in 1987 – have ensured that the Poppy will always remind us of those who died at the hands of terrorists in Northern Ireland.
“Perhaps that explains why Republicans sought to ban it.
“The SRC is to be congratulated for defeating a motion which was divisive and offensive to people throughout Northern Ireland and indeed further afield”.