A ROW erupted in Belfast City Council on Monday night over a DUP motion calling on Council to express its "full and unconditional support" for the PSNI.
The motion was brought by DUP Councillor Gareth Spratt in the wake of the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell in Omagh.
However, an amendment by People Before Profit called on the motion to be re-worded, with "full and unconditional support" removed from it.
People Before Profit Councillor Fiona Ferguson spoke against paramilitaries but said the motion was not simply about condemnation of the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell but being used by the DUP to push through "unconditional support" for the PSNI from the Council.
She said councillors are not elected to give unconditional support to an organisation but are here to hold it to account.
Councillor Ferguson raised a number of issues within the PSNI including misogyny, disparity when it comes to stop and searches and fines for Black Lives Matter protestors. She said the PSNI have failed many groups of people, including women and young people.
In response, Alliance Group Leader Michael Long described Councillor Ferguson's speech as a "whinge list" which was one-sided in negativity and stated he found it hard to know if People Before Profit do support the police.
Totally dismayed to have Cllr Michael Long describe my speech highlighting misogyny, targeting of minorities, strip searches of children, etc, by PSNI as a 'whinge-list'
— Cllr Fiona Ferguson (@fiona_ferg) April 3, 2023
Every issue I raised was taken from official reports & deeply serious. I asked him to retract but he refused.
He said he would support the DUP motion, given that "unconditional support" means mechanisms like the Police Ombudsman and Policing Board are there to challenge police on issues like those raised by Councillor Ferguson.
Green Party Councillor Mal O'Hara said he would support the People Before Profit amendment and criticised Councillor Long's remarks.
DUP Councillor Sammy Douglas said he found Councillor Ferguson's comments "disconcerting" and said the motion was to do with recent events.
SDLP Councillor Donal Lyons said he felt "obliged to speak up" on the issue. He stated the motion should be about DCI Caldwell and it should be a given for councillors to condemn paramilitaries. He questioned whether there was a deeper meaning behind the motion in trying to get "unconditional support" for the PSNI, who have many issues, as do most police forces.
Councillor Fiona Ferguson asked Michael Long to retract his comments, which he refused.
The People Before Profit amendment was carried with 30 votes for and 28 against.
