Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“If there was any doubt about Congressman Neal’s position on Northern Ireland before his visit to the Republic and to this part of the U.K. his pronouncements in recent days have removed them. What is the point in engaging with someone who dismisses Unionists as Planters – implying that they have no right to be in a country they and their families have lived in for hundreds of years, many more one might add than Irish Americans have been in North America? What is the point in engaging with someone who has already dismissed Unionist concerns about the Protocol as manufactured? What is the point in meeting someone who on Tuesday was spinning fairy stories about soldiers returning to the border while never acknowledging the threat of Republican terrorism which necessitated them being there 30 years ago? What is the point in seeking to explain a Unionist position to someone who has openly celebrated IRA hunger striker and would be furniture shop bomber Bobby Sands?
“Frankly, any engagement with Congressman Neal by Unionists is a waste of time. The DUP and UUP would send a stronger message by simply refusing to meet with him. At the very least they should make an apology for his insulting comments about Planters a precondition of any engagement.”