Statement by TUV South Down Assembly candidate Henry Reilly:
“Conor Murphy’s continued insistence that convicted tax cheat Slab Murphy is a “good republican” exposes Sinn Fein/IRA’s supposed support for the rule of law as a sham.
“Other Unionists claimed that they only entered government with Sinn Fein because of their commitment to support the police and the courts. Yet here we have a senior figure in the Republican movement defending a man who just a few days ago was sentenced to 18 months for tax offences.
“Slab Murphy is a notorious criminal who is long last facing justice but Sinn Fein/IRA remain committed to defending him – and publically so – regardless of the verdict of the court.
“This, added to the facts exposed in last year’s report from HM’s Government which showed that the IRA Army Council remains intact and that the organisation retains weapons and is engaged in criminality up to and including murder, should surely give Unionist voters pause to think about just why TUV alone rejects them as unfit for government office.”