Jon Burrows tells his politicians not to provide court references for anyone after positive letter penned for Dee Stitt
Jon Burrows has laid down a rule that none of his politicians are allowed to give character references to anybody in court.
The UUP leader said no elected representative “will be providing any character references to any suspects or defendants”.
The move comes after it emerged that one of his would-be MLAs gave a reference to loyalist Dee Stitt.
UUP councillor Pete Wray, who will be running for the party in North Down in next year’s Assembly election, has told the News Letter that his reference, which was used to by Mr Stitt's legal team during a bail application, was not done in his capacity as a politician but rather "in my role as manager of Bangor Alternatives at the direction of my employer".
His employer told the News Letter it was a "factual reference"
Mr Stitt, a former UDA prisoner, had been facing a charge of inciting religious hatred at the time. The case was eventually thrown out.
Earlier this month UUP leader Mr Burrows had denounced the head of the Law Society David Lavery for providing a reference for his cousin William Lloyd-Lavery as he awaited sentencing for historic child abuse, saying that such a reference was “unforgivable” and that the law body boss should stand down.
News of councillor Wray’s reference for Mr Stitt came to light in an interview that Stitt had done with anti-immigration activist Richard Inman.
In the video the loyalist talked about applying for High Court bail while on remand for his incitement charge, and listed councillor Wray as among those who provided a reference for him.
Asked why he had provided the reference, councillor Wray told the News Letter: “A letter was provided in my role as manager of Bangor Alternatives at the direction of my employer.
"Therefore all queries should be directed to our director, Professor Debbie Watters.
"This was not provided in my capacity as a member of or elected representative of the UUP.”
Alternatives is a group that works in loyalist areas, with its stated aim being to “develop non-violent community responses to the issues of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour”.
A statement then followed from Prof Watters, saying: “Mr Pete Wray, in his capacity as a site manager of NI Alternatives’ Bangor office, and at the direction of our organisation and following a request from a legal firm, provided a factual reference in respect of positive community transition and development work that Mr David Stitt had engaged in.”
Asked to comment, Mr Burrows said: “Since I have become leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, I have publicly stated my belief that political representatives should not provide references to suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings, either before or after conviction.
“I have written to every member of the Ulster Unionist Party to make my position as party leader explicitly clear.
“No elected representative of the Ulster Unionist party will be providing any character references to any suspects or defendants.
“As party leader I have also called for fundamental reform of post conviction character references.
"Our party stands full square with the victims of crimes, not the perpetrators.”
It is understood that even if a lay UUP member wants to provide a court reference they should now seek advice from the party.
Mr Stitt claimed that he left the UDA whenever it was proscribed in 1992, several years before he was jailed for committing an armed robbery on behalf of the UDA.
Speaking to the News Letter in 2018 he said his robbery had been “a necessary thing during the conflict”.
He said he still had “connections with the UDA”, with some of his best friends in the group, adding: “I still have a role with the organisation, or a relationship with the organisation, to advise them on transition.”
Mr Stitt’s 2024 incitement charge stemmed from a post he had shared on Facebook on July 31, 2024 as anti-immigrant unrest began breaking out in the UK following the Southport murders two days earlier.
The post listed parts of Belfast, Newtownabbey and north Down where protests were to be held and said that “the aim is to bring the country to a standstill… what can you say to your children in years to come when we had one chance to stop the spread of evil Islam” (the Southport murderer turned out to be a British-born youth of Rwandan extraction; he was not Muslim).
Stitt, described as a “community worker” in court reports, had been on a six-week break in Alicante when he made the post.
The case against him was eventually thrown out of court in March this year.