Ulster Unionist Justice Spokesperson Tom Elliott has hit out at the release on bail of Padraic Wilson the day after Sinn Fein protests.
Mr Elliott said:
“Many people will be asking if there is any connection between the release of Padraic Wilson on bail less than 24 hours after a mass protest by Sinn Fein supporters and MLAs outside Police Headquarters in Belfast.
There is no doubt that political pressure was applied in the case of Padraic Wilson, the only question is whether or not that pressure was the reason for the release.
Sinn Fein does not get to pick and choose who can be investigated or arrested and who is “untouchable.” That is not how the rule of law works in a democracy. By the reaction of leading Sinn Fein politicians to the arrest of Padraic Wilson it is very clear that they actively want political policing, whereby people connected to the IRA are exempt from the rules which apply to the rest of us.
I and my Party utterly reject this notion, No-one is above the law and the Police must be permitted to do their job and investigate anyone or anything wherever the evidence leads, no matter how inconvenient that may be.”