DUP councillor makes scurrilous attack on our parties' intentions in EU trip

“The gang of four of Alliance, Greens and SDLP, together under Sinn Fein’s leadership, are planning to meet Michel Barnier with a message designed to cut Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK” ‘Pan nationalist gang of four is off to see Michel Barnier in their bid to use Brexit as staging post to united Ireland,’

I am sure that I am not alone in finding the above heading offensive, and something that one would expect from a ‘Fake News’ organisation of the extreme right in the USA, or maybe eastern Europe.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a ‘gang’ as; ‘An organized group of criminals’, and I can assure your readers that the majority of the people who voted Remain in the referendum were not criminals or supporters of criminal activity!

Given that 55.8 % voted in Northern Ireland in supported of remaining in the EU, is Mr Smith suggesting that no unionists were in favour of the remaining in the EU?

Mr Smith’s article was nothing by scurrilous, nothing but an attempt at making or spreading scandalous claims about the Alliance Party in particular and also the SDLP (of which I am a member) and the Green Party in NI.

I will conclude by stating that the Belfast News Letter, one of Northern Ireland’s main daily newspapers, can be better than this!

Le dea-ghuí,

With good wishes

Éamonn Ó Gribín, Newry, Co Down