Adams likely to abandon planned US trip
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams tonight looked set to drop plans to fly to New York this week for a fundraising dinner for his party after the US government placed restrictions on his visa.
The west Belfast MP had been planning to take part in the annual Friends of Sinn Féin fundraising dinner in New York.
However, the US government has withheld from him an exemption on the visa which would allow him to raise funds for the party.
Sinn Féin sources were outraged by the move which has been linked to the party’s refusal to make supportive statements about policing in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin General Secretary Mitchel McLaughlin condemned the US decision.
He said: “There is no issue about granting the visa.
“It is the conditions that have been attached and we are stressing that it is a ludicrous situation for the administration to allow itself to be put in that position because the fundraising events will go ahead nonetheless, whether or not Gerry Adams is at the event or in the country.
“What we are saying is that Gerry Adams has stepped up to the plate in terms of the demands that have been made on him as a political leader and it is up to other political leaders to recognise that and respond accordingly.”
