Council refuses to participate in 'any jobs fair which involves British Armed Forces' in landslide vote

​The motion, brought by Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson, passed by 30 votes to five.

The DUP and TUV both today condemned the decision, with the former’s Foyle MLA Julie Middleton saying it was “disgraceful and deeply divisive”.

"At a time when dissident republicans continue to pose a terrorist threat, it is particularly appalling that elected representatives would seek to exclude our Armed Forces from employment opportunities,” she said.

"Those who serve in uniform deserve respect, not discrimination driven by narrow political agendas.”

Meanwhile West Tyrone TUV Assembly candidate Stevan Patterson noted that “less than 24 hours before the vote in the chamber, Army bomb disposal officers made safe a viable explosive device posted by republican terrorists to an Ebrington Square hotel in Londonderry”.

“None of the self righteous councillors who pontificate about the Army were on the scene to carry out that operation,” he said.

He added: “Durning the EU defence ministers’ meeting at Druids Glen last month for example, it was His Majesty’s Royal Navy which was deployed off Co Wicklow at the request of Irish authorities.

“If the Royal Navy is good enough to provide air-defence support at the Irish authorities’ request, the Armed Forces are surely good enough to meet young people at a jobs fair run by the local council.”

The motion, which was voted for at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday night, said: “This council recognises the inclusion of the British armed forces at the recent jobs fair organised by the Department of Communities has been a barrier for many who wished to avail of job opportunities from local employers at this annual event.

"This council will play no part in the organisation or marketing of any future job fair that includes the British armed forces and commits to organise a council-run jobs fair in the coming months to provide an opportunity for those who were unable to attend the most recent jobs fair in the city.”

​Independent (formerly SDLP) councillor Shauna Cusack spoke of the shooting of her uncle Seamus as she backed the motion.

Mr Cusack, 28, was the first person killed by the British Army in the city during the Troubles.

A civilian, he was shot in the leg and died hours later in Letterkenny Hospital.

“He was murdered by the British Army in cold blood in 1971,” councillor Cusack said.

Another uncle had joined the RAF in his 20s, had become an engineer and pilot, and “had opportunities as a Catholic from Creggan he would not have had here in any capacity”.

However, she said: “I don't believe that having a jobs fair run by the council in that capacity is a good thing or wise thing to do given our challenged history and given what a lot of us have been though.”

Councillor Jackson said the legacy of the British armed forces in the city “was one of trauma and hurt and destruction” and “to have the British Armed forces at a jobs fair has become a barrier to many people who are seeking employment and looking to advance their careers”.

SDLP councillor Rory Farrell said the party did not support “any organ of the British military being invited to a jobs fair anywhere” in Londonderry.

Among those objecting to the motion was UUP councillor Darren Guy said who told the meeting that “I understand why people in here are against the British military and so on”, but added that a jobs fair “is all about choice”.