The Ulster Unionist Party condemns without reservation any threat against Catherine Seeley, the Sinn Féin councillor currently teaching at Belfast Boys Model School.

Party Leader, Mike Nesbitt MLA, said:

“We believe passionately in a shared future. This means we must all accept there will be new normals, including members of one of our traditional communities becoming embedded in the other.

“In this specific, if parents, pupils or indeed staff have genuine concerns, there is no shortage of resource and guidance to find a solution without recourse to sectarianism and intimidation.”

Commenting on the latest row over the Irish Language, Mr Nesbitt added:

“It is a matter of regret that Republicans have long-since politicised the Irish Language. It is also a matter of fact, given numerous speeches, such as that eleven years ago this month by Sinn  Féin President Gerry Adams TD, at an event in south Armagh.

“Sinn Féin have created the problem by politicising the Irish Language, so it inevitably falls to them to fix the problem.

“During the Haass talks, the Ulster Unionist Party was asked if we would support Sinn Féin’s call for an Irish Language Act. We were unable to do so, because an Act is a means to achieve an end, and we need clarity on what that end is. I am happy to have that discussion with Sinn Féin, although I cannot commit to supporting the end, until we hear the Sinn Féin vision.

“In the absence of that clarity, a fear factor is inevitable. With clarity, we will know whether that fear is unfounded. Only Republicans can move this on.

“It is also time for Republicans and Nationalists to stop confusing identity and sovereignty. The Ulster Unionist Party recognises the right of any citizen of Northern Ireland to describe themselves as Irish, but that is a separate issue from the fact that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, and will remain so unless and until the people of Northern Ireland decide otherwise. That means there is only one sovereign flag that reflects our constitutional status. That flag is the Union Flag, and I call on Republicans and Nationalists to not only make that clear, but agree how we give it expression through agreement on the official flying of the Union Flag.”