DUP councillor's apology over '˜PIRA mouthpiece' tweet

A DUP councillor has issued an apology to an Alliance Party member who he accused of being 'a mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA'.
Graham CraigGraham Craig
Graham Craig

Graham Craig made the remark about Alliance activist Sorcha Eastwood on Twitter last month, after she had spoken at a rally supporting families of the Ballymurphy massacre victims.

He deleted the tweet soon after, with Ms Eastwood stating at the time that the matter would be referred to her solicitor.

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Yesterday, Mr Craig said his statement “should never have been published in the first place”.

Sorcha EastwoodSorcha Eastwood
Sorcha Eastwood

His apology, posted via a link on his Twitter feed, stated: “On 13 August 2018, I made a statement on my Twitter account regarding Sorcha Eastwood alleging she is a mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA.

“I accept that my statement is untrue and should never have been published in the first place.

“I sincerely apologise to Ms Eastwood and her family for any hurt and distress I may have caused.”

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The News Letter contacted Alliance regarding the matter, but a spokesman said the party had no comment to make.

However, replying to Mr Craig on Twitter, Alliance leader Naomi Long said: “You may want to check whether the apology meets agreed terms as by putting it on TwitLonger it is nowhere near as prominent as the allegation and by not tagging you the affected people won’t see it.”