Editorial: The flag under which Team Northern Ireland competes at the Commonwealth Games was not a matter for the local games team organiser to decide

The group that organises the Northern Ireland team’s participation in the Commonwealth Games has pulled back from the brink on the flag it uses.

The leader of Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (CGNI) wanted to replace the Ulster Banner under which Team NI competes with a more “inclusive” one,

The DUP sports minister Gordon Lyons handled this well by issuing “clear” guidance that the flag should stay. The CGNI board then accepted that. Even so, this is a disturbing saga. What if a less robust minister had let CGNI decide such a key matter, rather than elected minister?

There is already a problem with the constraining of political decision making. Highly influential third sector organisations in NI challenge politicians when they try to make clear, distinct policies. The Belfast courts are not shy about playing a forceful role in policy – look how UK governments have let judges set the pace in how the the legacy of the Troubles is examined.

Mr Heatley named parts of NI where people would feel uncomfortable about the Ulster Banner, but that is almost a non sequitur – there are of course republican and loyalist parts of the province where certain symbolism is unwelcome. The division on such matters is why some footballers play for Northern Ireland, others for the Republic of Ireland. But the Commonwealth Games itself is something that many Irish athletes are not to be part of, precisely because the Republic refuses to join the Commonwealth.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK under the consent principle. Consequences that flow from that include the Union flag flying on designated days from public buildings. And us competing in the Commonwealth Games.

Mr Heatley’s comments pleased a Sinn Fein that does not want Northern Ireland to exist and do not want any NI flag. The Ulster Banner is all we have and it was not up to Mr Heatley to try to change it.