Loyalist chairman refuses to withdraw claim that Arlene Foster told paramilitary body she’s prepared to quit over Irish Sea border

The DUP have demanded that David Campbell, the chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), withdraw comments made to The Sunday Independent in Dublin where he said that Mrs Foster had told his group that collapsing Stormont “had to be clearly within the DUP’s thinking” but that now “would not be the time to do that”.

The newspaper reported Mr Campbell as saying that Mrs Foster’s view was essentially that walking out of Stormont “would be if and when all other avenues were explored and exhausted and if there was still a reluctance in London, Dublin and Brussels to change the protocol”.

However, the DUP insisted that had never been said and demanded that Mr Campbell – a former chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party and a former chief of staff to David Trimble when he was First Minister – withdraw his comments.

Almost a month ago, Mrs Foster led a DUP delegation to meet with the LCC – which is a legal organisation but whose key members are illegal paramilitary organisations.

At the time, she described it as a “constructive and useful meeting” where they discussed “political and constitutional” attempts to remove the Northern Ireland Protocol, which has put in place the Irish Sea border.

Today Mr Campbell said that the meeting was not the only high-level contact between the DUP and the LCC.

This morning DUP minister Peter Weir rejected Mr Campbell’s claim about what they had discussed. He told Good Morning Ulster: “I think we’re somewhat bemused by the comments and I think we’re seeking David to clarify the situation [and] whether he’s misinterpreted.

“But you know the reality is in terms of the meeting that was held between the DUP and David’s group, we didn’t raise the issue of bringing down the Assembly, it wasn’t discussed, it’s not within our thinking, and I think that would be counter-productive.

“I think what we are looking to see across the board, across unionism as a whole, is constructive co-operation on an entirely sort of peaceful constitutional manner to see what actions can be taken against the protocol, and that’s where the focus of our activities is.

“We’re not and we haven’t suggested bringing down the Assembly or the Executive nor indeed was it discussed at the meeting.”

However, Mr Campbell told the News Letter that he stood over what he said: “I’m not withdrawing it because there may be some disconnect or confusion over dates of meetings and conversations but there have been multiple conversations and I’m under no doubt that the DUP has been fully aware that the feeling from loyalism is that the Executive will become untenable if the protocol is not changed to reflect the rights and guarantees for both communities under the Agreement.

“That means, regrettably, I think Arlene will have to bring down the Executive.”

Mr Campbell highlighted that Martin McGuinness had walked out of Stormont over a scandal about a heating scheme and added: “How much more important is this?”

However, he said the group had “the sincere and genuine hope that that doesn’t have to happen and common sense will prevail”. Mr Campbell added of the paramilitary groups within the LCC: “The groups have never attempted to dictate – because they’re not in a position to dictate to anybody. It’s basically the giving of considered advice and opinion.”

When asked about the claim that Mrs Foster had expressed a willingness to collapse devolution if the protocol is not removed, the DUP said in a statement: “We are bemused at the contents of this report about our meeting.

“There was no discussion about us bringing down the Northern Ireland Executive or anyone else thinking of bringing down Stormont.

“We have raised our concerns about this report directly with Mr Campbell and asked him to withdraw these comments in the interests of accuracy.

“We utterly condemn any suggestion of violence or the threat of violence being used. We reiterate what we said after the meeting: ‘This was a constructive and useful meeting where we discussed the opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol within the community. We listened to the views expressed and the need for political and constitutional methods to safeguard the United Kingdom single market and ensure there is an unfettered flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’”

However, while that statement emphasised that the issue was not discussed at the February 25 meeting with the LCC, it did not state that the issue had never been discussed with the group.

When asked if the issue had ever been discussed with the LCC – either before or after the meeting – a DUP spokesman said: “It has not been discussed with them.”

This morning Stephen Nolan reported that a source at the top of the DUP had told him that the party will not allow an Irish language act until the protocol is removed.

The Executive was only restored last January after a three-year vacuum because the DUP accepted an Irish language act in all but name, meaning that if the party follows through on its threat now to renege on that, it is likely to see Stormont collapse with Sinn Féin walking away from government.

However, in a carefully-worded party statement issued by the DUP press office at lunch time, the DUP seemed to say that was not party policy.

It said: “The DUP is committed to the balanced upholding of all aspects of the devolution settlement. Each Strand can only fully function when the others are working properly. They are all interdependent.

“We have seen the erection of barriers between GB and NI on trade and the application of laws governing our country as well as blatant disrespect for the unionist identity.

“We remain committed to New Decade New Approach. All of these issues must be addressed and resolved along with the NDNA commitments if we are to achieve stability for Northern Ireland.

“The way forward is through dialogue and political discussion.”

Leaked internal DUP minutes show fear of looming electoral collapse, and dismay at party’s direction

Brandon Lewis interview: Denial of the Irish Sea border is gone as SoS says parts of frontier are being ditched for good

Ban on British soil entering Northern Ireland is over for good, says NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis

Sam McBride: Northern Ireland is now a proxy battleground for the EU and the UK – and that is dangerous

TUV leader Jim Allister’s aide had messages between Jamie Bryson and Sinn Féin, court told

Under cross-examination from loyalist Jamie Bryson, libel lawyer Paul Tweed refuses to name five Nama case clients

Sam McBride: After darkness, light: Reasons for real hope as Northern Ireland vaccine rollout accelerates – but first expect political rows

Sam McBride: Northern Ireland is in a breathtakingly undemocratic position which dishonest Boris Johnson knows is indefensible – yet he knowingly chose it

Sam McBride: Read the small print – the Irish Sea border may be impossible to remove, even if MLAs vote it down

Sam McBride: Shackled to Brexit, Arlene Foster can’t admit that it has been disastrous for Union – but Irish Sea border is radically reshaping NI

——— ———

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