Ulster Unionist Party Justice Spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA has said the Party will be urging the next Westminster Government to remove Sinn Fein’s expenses.  

Doug Beattie MC MLA said:  

“Taxpayers must ask why in this day and age their taxes are going to help fund a political party whose strategy is overseen by a terrorist organisation.  That is where we are in 2019 with Sinn Fein and their continued relationship with the Provisional IRA Army Council.

“This is not my assessment; this is the assessment of the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) – Simon Byrne – who has clearly stated that the assessment made in 2015 about the PIRA relationship with Sinn Fein has not changed.  Therefore, it is important to look at what that assessment was in October 2015, which led to the Ulster Unionist Party leaving the Executive.

“In 2015 an assessment of the Provisional IRA by the UK intelligence agencies concluded that the IRA continued to oversee Sinn Fein strategy and that policy decisions emanated from the PIRA Army Council. It would be interesting to hear from the Garda’s Chief Commissioner if that is the assessment of the security services in the Irish Republic, but that is for them to deal with.

“As it stands now, Sinn Fein’s Westminster expenses are paid for by UK taxpayers, in spite of the fact that Sinn Fein MPs refuse to take their seats. Just imagine the outcry if a major political party in Great Britain was directed by a terrorist organisation and clear evidence existed to support this. Would it be accepted or tolerated? Would people be happy that their money is going towards such a shameful situation?

“Nobody could have envisaged that 21 years after the Belfast Agreement was signed, that a major terrorist group would still be impacting on the lives of the people of Northern Ireland. If the PIRA Army Council gave direction to Sinn Fein to collapse Stormont then they are still killing our citizens as people die on NHS waiting lists. At least Lord Empey has tried to rectify this situation, even if he is a solo voice, by calling for powers on Health to be returned to Westminster for humanitarian reasons.

“Let me be clear, if Ulster Unionist candidates are returned to the benches at Westminster, we will be raising this funding issue. It is shameful that in 2019 a political party that is directed by a terrorist organisation, responsible for the murder and maiming of thousands of our citizens, actually receives tax payers money to promote their message and the message of their terrorist controllers.”