Emily Thornberry’s backing for the Labour Party of Northern Ireland was opportunistic

(The correspondence can be read here: ‘Letter was inaccurate, because Emily Thornberry did reply to Labour Party NI and supported our demand,’ February 21).

After decades of lobbying demands for the Labour Party to stand candidates in Northern Ireland, the party is more resolutely opposed than ever, as evidenced by the NEC’s dismissive report on the subject in September 2019.

Boyd Black accuses me of wrongfully suggesting that Emily Thornberry may have been misleading LPNI members in Northern Ireland when she recently offered highly qualified “support” for their case during her failed party leadership bid.

In doing so Mr Black did not actually address the substantive points I made (‘Legal action is the only chance now for Labour Party NI, February 19) about Thornberry’s convoluted position.

However, he confirmed that Emily Thornberry wrote (via himself) to the Executive Committee (EC) of LPNI.

But he does not mention that the majority of LPNI EC members did not have sight of Thornberry’s statement until the last minute before the LPNI leadership nominations meeting on February 8.

Normally an EC would meet in advance to discuss such a communication and take a position. That did not happen.

Boyd Black also fails to mention that soon after her flimsy expression of support for LPNI, Thornberry was quoted in the local press as stating that she “would not be pressing for Labour candidates in NI anytime soon”.

I pointed out that such opportunistic and patronising smoke and mirrors from occasional Labour grandees is not uncommon. In reality, it amounts to the kind of “support” that the rope provides to the proverbial hanging man!

I myself have lobbied CLP members and trade unionists in the cause of LPNI.

But as Boyd Black states, the time has now come for legal action against the Labour Party on grounds of racial discrimination. Everything else is a perennial pipedream.

Andy Ward, LPNI member, Belfast BT6