Posters urging against ‘DUP sellout’ are ‘intimidatory’ – Beattie

Political posters urging against a “DUP sellout” have been condemned as “intimidatory”.

The posters stating “Stop DUP sellout” were erected outside the office of party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in Lisburn and across Northern Ireland, including in Hillsborough village where multi-party talks resumed on Monday.

In a social media post on Sunday, Sir Jeffrey said the poster had been put up “in the middle of the night” by TUV members.

He said: “I will not be intimidated or distracted by such shadowy behaviour any more than similar behaviour I have faced in the past by republicans.”

On Monday morning TUV leader Jim Allister told the BBC’s The Nolan Show that members of his party were involved in putting up the poster.

He said: “This is a bit of political activism to which there has been a huge overreaction.

“If there is no sellout afoot then no-one has anything to worry about.”

Speaking in Hillsborough later, Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie condemned the erection of political posters, which he said have also been placed outside the homes of DUP politicians.

He referenced a previous incident where a noose was around around the neck of one of his election posters, and said his office windows were later smashed.

He cautioned against the potential outcomes of “raising the rhetoric”.

“These posters weren’t just outside DUP elected representatives’ offices, these were also outside some of their family homes, and that has to be condemned,” he said.

“People may say this is not intimidatory, this is just a poster, but I have young staff who work for me and if there are posters outside my office, it intimidates them, so whether they think it’s intimidatory or not, it is.

“I don’t think it’s the right tactic. Jim Allister has made his point abundantly clear, he gets plenty of airwaves to make that point and I have to respect his point of view. I don’t think these posters help in any shape or form.”