Larne DUP councillor voices ‘political football’ concerns ahead of special meeting

In a statement issued by the East Antrim DUP, Cllr McKeen, the party’s group leader on the council, said: “I am disgusted, but not surprised, by the contempt in which council workers and their families have been held by Alliance and their friends throughout the past fortnight.

“Council has a clear duty of care to all its staff and those staff and their safety is and will always be the organisation and councillors’ number one priority.

“At full council, political parties voted unanimously to withdraw those staff until we could get a formal assessment from the PSNI to reassure them and us that they were safe to go about doing their jobs.

“Councillor Danny Donnelly, whose party continues to use those staff as political footballs, seconded the decision on the night! He seems to have gone very quiet in that regard.

“Like all councillors, under the code of conduct we have a duty to scrutinise and make decisions in the best interests of our residents.

“To support a decision based on prioritising staff safety until the PSNI gave us their formal assessment, then come out to try and make political capital out of what is an awful situation, is shameful politicking at its worst.”

Cllr Donnelly has said that ratepayers in Mid and East Antrim “deserve the truth about the timeline of events which led to the recent removal of workers from the border control post in Larne”.

A request by Alliance for a special meeting is understood to have been pencilled in by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for February 22.

In a statement, Cllr Donnelly commented: “Over the past two weeks, more and more apparent discrepancies have appeared over what exactly happened in the run up to the decision to remove staff from Larne Port.

“This was a move which had great significance, as it acted as the catalyst for growing tensions across Northern Ireland.

“While the safety of staff is obviously paramount and there was no question of doing anything other than protecting them, conflicting reports since then from the council, PSNI and trade unions demonstrate at the least a breakdown in communication at some point.

“Councillors need to know how this happened, but in addition, our ratepayers deserve the truth about the timeline of events and have outstanding questions answered.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

Click here to read: Council duo to meet unions over Larne port checks staff security concerns statement

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