DUP councillor refuses to retract sectarian remarks

Ballymena Democratic Unionist Party Councillor Robin Stirling has caused uproar by describing the town's Dunclug Estate as a "foreign ghetto".

Stirling made his inflammatory remark after a meeting of the District Policing Partnership at the Dunclug Community Centre on Thursday 29 April.

Despite criticisms from local nationalist politicians and community representatives, the DUP man has refused to withdraw his remarks. He has claimed that he formed his description, "because of the green, white and orange paint and Irish Tricolours in the area.

"I had a lot of phone calls about the fact that the painting and flags were lowering the value of property and a stranger to the area would perceive it to be a foreign ghetto."

Sinn Féin North Antrim Assembly member Philip McGuigan said Stirling's remarks had a "strong whiff of sectarianism" about them and accused the DUP councillor of trying to stoke up sectarian trouble in the Ballymena area.

"Mr Stirling should withdraw his remarks at once," he said. "To describe the Dunclug area as a 'foreign ghetto' is a slur on the vast majority of people who live there. Once again we have unionist politicians stoking up naked sectarianism. I hope his remarks are not seized upon by unionist paramilitaries as an excuse to attack nationalists in the area."