NI COUNCILLOR AT FAR RIGHT CONFERENCE
STORM OVER SPEECH TO BRITAIN FIRST
BELFAST councillor Jolene Bunting was condemned last night for addressing the conference of the far-right group Britain First.
Speaking at the gathering in Bedfordshire on Saturday, she praised its deputy leader Jayda Fransen, some of whose anti-Muslim messages were retweeted by Donald Trump last week, sparking a storm.
“Jayda this week has been outstanding,” Ms Bunting told the conference, “but you were telling the truth.
“Donald Trump loves the truth, he tells the truth.
“When he saw Jayda tell the truth he obviously thought ‘I like this girl’, and who wouldn’t?”
There was outrage when Trump retweeted the posts, lead- ing to a diplomatic spat between the President and Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Britain First sought to divide communities through its use of “hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions”.
During her appearance at the conference, independent unionist Bunting also talked about living in Northern Ireland and there being no “real peace”.
“I’m living in the thick of it... it’s a lot quieter, it’s not constant like it used to be,” the 25-yearold said.
But Alliance councillor Kate Nicholl said: “Britain First is a hate-filled, racist organisation which strives to cause division and stoke tension and fear.
“I have been working with members of the Belfast Islamic Centre, who are dignified and peaceful people (Jolene herself said they were nice people) who are already unfairly subjected to Islamophobic abuse.
“I believe as Belfast city councillors we have a duty to promote tolerance and respect, and I think it is a complete disgrace that a Belfast councillor attended their conference.”
Meanwhile, the £2,000-plus paid to hire the conference room used for the meeting will be donated to charity by the hotel concerned.
Wyboston Lakes Resort said it was “deeply offended” by the controversial organisation’s presence on its property.
Pictures posted online by the fringe political group’s leader Paul Golding showed dozens of people sitting in a room decked with banners declaring ‘Taking Our Country Back!’
The hotel faced criticism online when news of the conference, the location of which had not been made public by Britain First, became clear.
The meeting was booked at short notice under the name Patriot Merchandise, which the hotel said had no obvious connections to Britain First.
Patriot Merchandise is listed at Companies House as a private limited company based in Belfast.
No staff entered the meeting room during the event and the banners were erected only in the “closed off conference room”, a hotel spokesman said.