Row over '˜perfect' IRA bomb comment

Doug Beattie of the UUP has called on Sinn Fein to clarify if they are prepared to distance themselves from a party supporter who described an IRA bomb in Manchester as 'perfect'.

Aaron MacDaibheid, whose Twitter profile describes him as a republican, a socialist and a Sinn Fein member, posted a tweet lauding the 1996 blast as the “perfect” IRA operation.

More than 200 people were injured, many seriously, when a massive 3,000lb device in a lorry exploded on June 15.

During a Twitter exchange on Thursday night, Mr MacDaibheid posted the message: “Bombs in Britain gave the republican movement the strongest hand with which to go to the negotiating table. That bomb was a perfect op imo (in my opinion).”

Mr Beattie, the Ulster Unionist general election candidate for Upper Bann, said: “This is a shocking statement from a Sinn Fein member. Surely they must distance themselves from it & him.”

Sinn Fein has not yet responded to a request for comment.