DUP MP Names Sinn Fein Man

Parliamentary privilege has again been used to 'name names' in the republican movement.

Following Lord John Laird's revelations last week in the House of Lords when he named those he believed to be responsible for the brutal killing of Cullyhanna man, Paul Quinn, Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy, a Deputy Speaker in the NI Assembly, has been alleged to be an ex-British agent and also an alleged suspect in the murder of a former RUC reservist.

DUP MP David Simpson used Parliamentary privilege to name the prominent Sinn Féin member and to make a series of controversial claims about him.

Mr Simpson, MP for Upper Bann, accused the Mid Ulster MLA of a "callous disregard for the lives of his neighbours" and said he was speaking out to "ensure that a story that needs to be told is told".

By making his claims in the Commons, Mr Simpson is protected from any possible legal action by Mr Molloy who later accused the MP of abusing parliamentary privilege.

"Like his fellow unionist MPs, I have no doubt David Simpson, being a coward, will not repeat these allegations outside of Westminster," Mr Molloy said in a statement.

"Given this history I would expect all of us, the media included, to approach this latest stunt with extreme caution."

Northern Minister Paul Goggins said he could not comment on the detailed allegations.

Two years ago Sinn Féin's Denis Donaldson was exposed as a police agent and later shot dead in Donegal.

(BMcC)