Statement by TUV Mournes council candidate Harold McKee:
“There has been widespread dismay in the community following the judgement which saw the man guilty of attacks on the memorial to Robert Hill Hanna VC and Kilkeel War Memorial get off with a mere 40 hours community service and 12 months on probation.
“The memorial to Robert Hill Hanna VC has only recently been erected following much hard work by local people to raise the money necessary. This monument and Kilkeel War Memorial are the focal point of remembrance in Kilkeel and the attacks on them caused deep upset and damaged community relations considerably. The sentence in this case does little to deter a repeat of such behaviour and amounts to a simple slap on the wrist.
“It is therefore appropriate that TUV leader Jim Allister should raise the matter with the Lady Chief Justice and I trust she will act upon his request to review the case.”
Mr Allister’s letter reads as follows:
Lady Chief Justice
Royal Courts of Justice
Dear Chief Justice,
Re: R-v-Ronan Campbell
Newry Magistrates Court
District Judge Eamonn King
I am in receipt of several representations in respect of the disposal in the above case.
The defendant pleaded guilty to charges of theft, criminal damage, indecent behaviour, attempted criminal damage and disorderly behaviour in respect of two separate attacks on the public memorial to Robert Hill Hanna VC and destroying Remembrance wreaths at Kilkeel War Memorial. Unsurprisingly, both the police and the prosecutor concluded and presented these offences as hate crimes.
In handing down his apparently very lenient sentence of 40 hours community service and 12 months on probation, District Judge King is reported to have decreed he was not going to “listen to the mob” adding he was “not entirely convinced it was a hate crime because this is a 23 year old and he doesn’t understand what hate was”!
Given the sensitivity of the objects of attack and the nature of the attacks, aggravated by the fact they were separate incidents, the suggestion that this was not a crime motivated by hate has caused great unease and disbelief among those who hold this place of remembrance in great respect. To excuse by suggesting a lack of understanding of hate is quite unbelievable.
The sacrilege visited upon these sensitive symbols by Campbell is not, I suggest, reflected in the leniency of the disposal, as exacerbated by the dismissive and wholly inappropriate remarks of the District Judge.
I ask you to review this matter and take appropriate steps in respect of the District Judge, with appropriate guidance for dealing with such attacks upon remembrance symbols.
I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Allister KC MLA