The controversy over Claire Fox being elevated to House of Lords won’t go away until she addresses IRA matter honourably

Claire Fox, who is also a former Brexit MEP, was an influential member of the RCP – a movement which justified the Provisional IRA’s campaign of terror, including the bombing of Warrington which resulted in the murder of two children.

Seff has previously made its’ position known in respect of Ms Fox’s lack of willingness to deal with her past associations with the RCP and we challenged her at the point when she was a candidate for the Brexit Party.

Neither she nor the party were prepared to deal with our concerns.

We re-issue our challenge that these matters be addressed, these issues cannot simply be shrugged off by Ms Fox as yesterday’s news, nor can this be the case for those who were part of the decision making process of elevating her to the House of Lords as a peer.

There must be accountability.

Seff’s position on violence is clear; we have consistently opposed criminal violence across the board, we do not engage with those who fail to account for the wrong of criminal violence.

Selective condemnations or expressions of regret for individual cases (deemed to be embarrassing for the given terror organisation) is not enough for us.

Whether it was bombings of cities or towns in England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland or beyond which resulted in innocents being murdered or if it was the murder of police, army or prison personnel whilst they were on duty or the targeted assassinations of off duty security force members or other civilians from across the community — all murders were wrong, there were no ‘legitimate targets.’

We will continue to challenge those who are unrepentant of the criminal violence they used, we will continue to challenge those who justify or seek to explain away that criminal violence and we will also challenge those who provide a platform (knowingly or unwittingly) for those who continue to peddle the lie that criminal violence was inevitable or necessary in the context of Northern Ireland.

The democratic political system which operates in this nation means that terrorists and their apologists may be elected into seats of power if given a mandate by the public, as obscene as that is to many it is the reality of the democracy we have.

But the appointment of Claire Fox is different. Downing Street needs to understand that there is a big issue needing resolved by Claire Fox which isn’t just going to go away.

Claire Fox must address these matters honourably once and for all. Her failure to do so means she remains an apologist for the violence perpetrated by republican terrorists, who were committed to overthrowing the Northern Ireland state through violent means.

Kenny Donaldson, director of services at South East Fermanagh Foundation (Seff)

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor