THE Speaker of the Assembly has been asked to rule on whether comments by a DUP MLA about West Belfast MLA Danny Baker in the chamber on Tuesday were in violation of the Standing Order on Members.
It comes after Mr Baker criticised the appearance of three DUP MLAs including Jonathan Buckley at a band parade in Lisburn last month where sectarian songs were played including 'No Pope of Rome' and 'Up to our knees in Fenian blood', just hours after the Pope died.
Speaking in the Assembly chamber at Stormont on Tuesday morning, DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley instead accused Mr Baker of failing to call out Kneecap and criticised his attendance at the Irish Cup Final on Saturday where trouble later broke out among some fans and the unveiling of a Bobby Sands statue on Sunday.
"Just this weekend, that man — Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker — was among a crowd that wreaked havoc in South Belfast. What did we see there? We saw rioting; a police car's window being smashed; chants of, 'Orange bastards'; IRA chants and songs; the targeting of a Polish war memorial; the ripping apart of poppy wreaths that had been laid by the Polish community; and an IRA flag.
"What else? We saw Danny Baker promoting the illegal use of flares at football games, yet that Member saw fit to deflect from that and try to target a parade in Lisburn that was attended by thousands of people and at which Lisburn Apprentice Boys put on a fantastic display.
"The Member is fooling nobody. The slur that he attempted to place on the community in Lisburn is nothing short of disgraceful, but it lays bare the crass sectarian acts that he has engaged in time and again.
"How quick has the Sinn Féin West Belfast Member been to condemn the actions of Kneecap: the chants of 'Kill your MP'? There has been no comment from Mr Baker in that regard. That may not be surprising; maybe it was a tad embarrassing, because it was Sinn Féin's policy for many years to target and kill MPs in this country. We take no lectures from the party opposite when it comes to standing up and speaking out for victims of terrorism across the community.
"Mr Baker was not finished. At the weekend he attended an event, smiling next to a memorial to Bobby Sands, a man who planned the bombing of Balmoral Furniture Company."
In response, Danny Baker said: “I am again calling on all three DUP MLAs to publicly call out and challenge this blatant sectarianism. There has been a noticeable increase in sectarian incidents across the north, in Lisburn, Belfast and Derry. All manifestations of sectarianism need to be called out."
On the personal remarks directed at him by Jonathan Buckley, Mr Baker said. "Mr. Buckley had the chance to condemn the sectarianism he had a front row seat to. His failure to do so speaks volumes.
"I will continue to call out sectarianism wherever and whenever I see it."
Speaking later in the chamber, Sinn Féin MLA Sinéad Ennis said: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Will you make a ruling on whether Jonathan Buckley's comments about Danny Baker were in violation of the Standing Order on Members' Statements, which states that they cannot: "be used to impugn or to attack another member."?
Mr Buckley replied: "Bring it on. Bring it on."
