Unionists 'not honest over Bill of Rights'
THERE were angry clashes in the Assembly after a leading loyalist accused unionist parties of 'lacking honesty' in their opposition to a strong Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
PUP leader Dawn Purvis warned the UUP and DUP they were failing Protestant communities by blocking efforts to enshrine a wide range of rights in law.
But she drew an angry reaction from Ulster Unionist Basil McCrea, whose party tabled an Assembly motion warning that proposals from the Human Rights Commission went beyond those envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement.
The Commission's plans for a Bill covering a range of rights are with Secretary of State Shaun Woodward.
The UUP motion calling for Mr Woodward to ignore the blueprint failed to secure cross-community support in the Assembly.
But a call by Ms Purvis for government to proceed with a public consultation on the Bill was supported by a majority of MLAs.
"The lack of honesty in the other unionist parties in this chamber is disheartening," said Ms Purvis. "Are they afraid that if the Protestant working classes fully understood and recognised their own rights, they would then have expectations of a more equitable society?"
But Mr McCrea said the proposals for a Bill would be a "paradise for jobsworths" who would delay the work of government.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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