Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“Sinn Fein for days has been on the back foot over collapsing Stormont and flip-flopping on a public inquiry, but today, courtesy of Ian Paisley, they are purring and using his gushing eulogy of McGuinness to validate the IRA/Sinn Fein record of murder as one of legitimate fight back by the downtrodden.
“McGuinness just hours before had rejected all invitations to apologise and show remorse for his violent past. In his own terms he is unrepentant. So, when a DUP MP gives McGuinness a by-ball for his IRA’s genocidal murder campaign and lauds him to the highest, he foolishly strengthens the Sinn Fein promoted narrative that it is unionists who must do all the giving. What a scene-setter for after the election when a leading DUP MP is laying the ground for paying whatever ransom Sinn Fein demands as the price for keeping Stormont going.
“Quite apart from undermining his own leader, Ian Paisley, whether because he is besotted with the disastrous ‘Chuckle Brothers’ era or making a pitch for future leadership, has given Sinn Fein a spring in its step.
“So, where does the DUP now really stand? Is it, Paisley style, wanting to placate Sinn Fein or face down Sinn Fein’s insatiable demands? Voters would be wise to be wary and recognise TUV – unequivocal in its stance on Sinn Fein – is their best insurance policy against the antics of rollover unionism after the election.”