‘I do not believe I have done anything worthy of an apology'

Independent

6 hours ago

The Stormont Communities Minister has insisted he does not believe he has done anything worthy of apologising for following criticism over a social media post.
Gordon Lyons was accused of 'poor judgment' following the post, sent hours before a crowd gathered outside Larne Leisure Centre and it was set alight, causing significant damage.
His post detailed that some individuals had been temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre in the early hours of the morning following disturbances in Ballymena, adding that as an MLA for the area, neither he nor his DUP council colleagues were made aware of that until that afternoon.
He went on to say that the individuals had since been moved out of Larne, adding that while protesting is a legitimate right, violence is not, and urged everyone to remain peaceful.
Mr Lyons faced a grilling by MLAs over the post at the Assembly on Monday.
He insisted that police had encouraged him and other elected representatives to share the message that those who had fled disorder in Ballymena, and had been accommodated at Larne Leisure Centre, were no longer there.
Mr Lyons pointed out that the location had already been publicised by others, and that his post pointed out that no one was sheltering at the leisure centre.
He also accused those criticising him as 'attempting to score political points'.
Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole put to Mr Lyons that his instinct appears to be to 'double down' and to be 'pugilistic rather than empathise with people who have been put out of their homes'.
He asked Mr Lyons to express 'some measure of regret and responsibility taking, for what was said on that post and the fact that it put vulnerable people in real fear.'
Mr Lyons said he rejected that characterisation.
'I took the decision to put a post up later on that afternoon because of the rumours that were circulating, because at lunchtime, a post had gone up on another page saying that there was going to be a protest at the leisure centre that evening,' he told MLAs.
'I was making it clear that there was nobody at the leisure centre anymore, which was the reason for the protest in the first place.
'That's the clarification that I was providing, that the council had already provided, as well, that the news outlets were reporting as well. So I was trying to temper the situation, to try and stop it getting out of hand.'
Mr Lyons also said it was 'absolutely outrageous' that people have tried to get 'political capital out of the horrendous events that have taken place'.
'I think that it is absolutely outrageous, I think violence is wrong, I thought that we saw absolutely despicable scenes and we should be united together as a House in condemning the violence,' he said.
'We should be united in support of victims, we should be united in support of police, we should be united in listening to the communities that have been affected and yes, those who are affected by some of the immigration policies that we have in place as well.
'He's asking me to say sorry for my role in this, and I simply do not believe that I have done anything that is worthy of an apology.'
First Minister Michelle O'Neill called for Mr Lyons to resign last week, while Secretary of State Hilary Benn said he should reconsider his words.
Mr Lyons said he had had a private conversation with Mr Benn since then.
He also cautioned that some comments made about him by 'a number of individuals that were not just wrong but offensive'.