Loyalist Bryson to address MPs’ committee
LOYALIST blogger Jamie Bryson is to appear before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster.
Mr Bryson has been listed as a witness to appear next Wednesday for a session entitled Devolution and Democracy in Northern Ireland: Dealing with the Deficit.
The committee has been working to gather a wide range of opinion from people of different backgrounds across Northern Ireland.
Also appearing next week are Derek McCallan, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association; Ruth Taillon, director, Centre for Cross-Border Studies; Naomi Long MLA, leader of the Alliance Party; Colum Eastwood MLA, leader of the SDLP, and independent unionist MLA and former Justice Minister Claire Sugden.
Mr Bryson is listed as appearing as a representative of the group Unionist Voice Policy Studies. The group, which has made a submission to the committee of MPs, has argued for the repeal of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act that established power-sharing after the Good Friday Agreement, and for direct rule, to allow for a renegotiation for a new system of government.
Unionist Voice Policy Studies describes itself as a “grassroots unionist/loyalist think tank” that explores ways unionism can move forward. Mr Bryson rose to prominence during the 2012 loyalist flag protests after Belfast City Council voted to fly the Union flag on designated days only throughout the year.
DUP MPs Gregory Campbell, Ian Paisley and Jim Shannon sit on the 13-member committee alongside independent MP Lady Hermon.
Asked for comment, Mr Bryson would only say he was “pleased” with the invitation to Westminster.