John Finlay, DUP Councillor for the Bann Valley, has called upon the Conservative Party to discipline Jeff Peel after his latest bigoted outburst against members of the Orange Institution. Writing on his blog, the leading Tory activist said about members of the Orange Institution:
“I certainly think that people who choose to join a clearly sectarian organisation must have sociopathic tendencies.”
Councillor Finlay said:
“The Conservative Party needs to send out a clear signal that it is open and stands for fairness and equality for everyone. The only way that this can be achieved is if Mr. Peel is subject to disciplinary action for his latest attack on the Orange Instituion. Failure to do so will send the message that the Conservatives in Northern Ireland are prepared to accommodate appalling bigotry within their ranks. Mr. Peel's intolerance towards Orangemen is a disgrace and shows hostility to the concept of a shared future and mutual respect.
The Orange Institution is a valued and much cherished part of the Unionist community. Its celebrations around The Twelfth form a key part of the culture and identity of the Pro-Union community in Northern Ireland. I am proud to be an Orangeman and from an Orange family. To see its members described in such grossly offensive terms by a leading member of the Northern Ireland Tories is frankly disgraceful. Owen Paterson has visited Dan Winter’s Cottage: the birthplace of Orangeism in the past. I know that he has been made aware of the value of Orangeism to the Unionist community. I would like to know what he makes of this appalling bigotry by a member of his own local party.
Jeff Peel of course has traded in this type of outburst in the past. People will not forget that he was the man who described the Orange Institution as a “backward facing, history obsessed, parish pump society." One is left wondering how much Mr. Peel’s latest outburst is reflective of the sentiment within the local Northern Ireland Tory membership."
