PSNI ‘assessing’ Martina Anderson tweet for potential criminal offences

The PSNI has confirmed it is “assessing” a controversial tweet by Sinn Fein’s Martina Anderson regarding any potential criminal offence.
Sinn Fein MLA Martina AndersonSinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson
Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson

Earlier this week the MLA had sent out a tweet which claimed that a compensation scheme for those injured in the Troubles was “mainly for those who fought Britain’s dirty war” and “mainly for those involved in collusion”.

A PSNI spokeswoman has now told the News Letter the tweet had been reported to it as “hate motivated”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“A complaint has now been made to police in relation to the tweet, which is reported as being hate motivated,” the PSNI said. “We are conducting an assessment to ascertain if the content of the tweet reaches the threshold whereby any criminal offences may have been committed.”

Martina Anderson's offensive tweet, which she later deleted.Martina Anderson's offensive tweet, which she later deleted.
Martina Anderson's offensive tweet, which she later deleted.

Innocent Victims United spokesman Kenny Donaldson said he was calling for Sinn Fein to sanction Ms Anderson.

“We have also issued a formal complaint to the PSNI and asked that they investigate Martina Anderson’s actions and whether there are breaches around hate speech and also the alleged misuse of an electronic communication method,” he said.

After a furious backlash, Ms Anderson deleted the tweet and issued an “unreserved” apology.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was never my intention to cause them any hurt,” she said on Wednesday. “All victims of the conflict deserve acknowledgement of their pain and loss and I support them in their efforts to get their pension.”

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said it was right that Ms Anderson apologised.

But Londonderry man Mervyn Lewers, 61, did not accept it.

“I don’t believe this was a heart-felt apology at all,” he said. “I lost both my legs in an IRA car bomb in 1988. And now I am being accused of being involved in a dirty war and collusion!

“Surely this type of comment should be treated as a hate crime, in that it accuses a huge number of disabled people of criminal activity?”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

After reading a post from a lawyer on social media, he said he would also be interested to know if such a tweet could be seen in the same light as those made by Belfast pastor Jim McConnell; He was charged, and later acquitted, of improper use of a public electronic communications network and sending a grossly offensive message.

“I also intend to make a complaint to the Commissioner for Standards at Stormont,” Mr Lewers added.

It is understood the commissioner’s post is currently vacant but is due to be filled soon.

A review is currently underway regarding hate crime in Northern Ireland. The PSNI currently says that “a hate and signal crime or incident will be recorded where it is perceived that the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against any person or property is on the grounds of the victim’s ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, political opinion or disability”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ms Anderson later deleted her tweet and apologised. It had sparked widespread anger and hurt among the victims’ community, many of whom have been campaigning for years to secure the payments which have been repeatedly delayed due to political rows over who should qualify.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said she contacted Ms Anderson over the tweet, told her it “was ill considered and would cause hurt and offence to victims”.

“I told her she should delete the tweet,” she added.

The original tweet claimed the compensation scheme would “discriminate, criminalise and exclude” those with paramilitary convictions.

It claimed the payments would mostly go to “those involved in collusion” and British troops – for instance, paratroopers involved in shootings in Ballymurphy in west Belfast in 1971 and on Bloody Sunday in 1972 – adding they were “mainly for those who fought Britain’s dirty war in Ireland”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jennifer McNern, who lost both legs in an IRA bomb attack on the Abercorn Restaurant in 1972, said victims have campaigned for more than a decade for people who have been injured through no fault of their own.

“If you see the people who are applying for this pension – they are blind, they are paralysed and they are amputees,” she told the BBC.

“That is the people who will avail of this pension when it opens.”

On Wednesday the Sinn Fein MLA issued an apology for the tweet.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She posted that she “apologised unreservedly for the hurt and offence caused by my tweet to people who suffered serious harm during the conflict here”.

“My comments were clumsy, were not directed at them and it was never my intention to cause them any hurt,” Ms Anderson wrote.

“All victims of the conflict deserve acknowledgement of their pain and loss, and I support them in their efforts to get their pension.”

Ms O’Neill welcomed the apology.

“Martina has since apologised. Let me restate that all victims deserve acknowledgement of their loss and pain and both I and we in Sinn Fein support them in their efforts to get what they are entitled to,” she said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie acknowledged the apology but pressed for Sinn Fein to make their views on the matter known.

“Martina may well have apologised for her last insulting tweet regarding the Victims Pension Scheme….. But this Sinn Fein #misinformation remains and in doing so creates confusion, anger and hurt,” he wrote on Twitter.

The row comes as Sinn Fein remains at odds with other parties over who should qualify for compensation payments for the injured, with the republican party arguing former terrorists should not be excluded.

Sinn Fein was invited to comment.

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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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