McElduff apologises for giving support to painting postboxes green
A Sinn Féin Assembly member today had to apologise for praising members of the party’s youth wing for painting red Royal Mail postboxes green.
The west Tyrone MLA Barry McElduff told the Assembly he remained opposed to British symbols being imposed anywhere in Ireland.
But he had to apologise for his backing of the painting campaign after it was ruled a breach of Assembly rules to effectively endorse vandalism.
The Sinn Féin representative said he did not support vandalism and today told the Assembly: “Members will know that I am strongly opposed to the imposition of British symbols and emblems in this or any other part of Ireland.
“However if a handful of words which I used in August 2008 broke the public duty for members, as set out in the Code of Conduct for members, which now appears to be the case, then of course I would want to apologise for this.”
In February the Committee of Standards and Privileges released a report after a complaint by DUP Assembly member Thomas Buchanan, who also represents West Tyrone.
The complaint referred to an article in the Strabane Chronicle on August 28 last year which reported that a number of post boxes in the Strabane area had been painted green as part of a campaign by Ógra Shinn Féin.
The article quoted Mr McElduff as commending those who were involved.
The Public Duty for Members states that: ’Members have a duty to uphold the law and to act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in them’.
The Interim Commissioner for Standards said the post-box painting campaign constituted vandalism and concluded that Mr McElduff’s comments were not consistent with the public duty as set out in the Code.
Mr Buchanan today said: “This is at least a small but clear indication that the kind of behaviour endorsed by Barry McElduff will not be supported.
“As a member of a devolved Assembly within the UK, he is expected to adhere to the standards expected of other politicians.
“This also gives another opportunity to highlight just how powerless Sinn Féin now are when they have been reduced to believing that vandalising some post boxes is the biggest blow they can deliver at the present time for a united Ireland.”
