Lord Trimble ‘was wrong to criticise LCC’
A mistake to castigate paramilitaries for protest against protocol: Mcnarry
DAVID Trimble’s former special adviser has said the ex-first Minister was wrong to criticise the decision by loyalist paramilitaries to withdraw support for the Good Friday Agreement. David Mcnarry said Lord Trimble “is wrong to castigate” the Loyalist Communities Council, adding: “I hope he reflects on this and revises his opinion.”
AN ex-chief adviser to David Trimble has said the former First Minister was wrong to criticise the decision by loyalist paramilitaries to withdraw support for the Good Friday Agreement. Mr Trimble, one of the architects of the peace deal, said the move by the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) in protest at the Irish Sea border should be “deplored”. The LCC represents the views of terror groups the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando. But David Mcnarry, Lord Trimble’s special adviser at the time of the Agreement, said he “profoundly disagrees” with that assessment. “During my time as special adviser to David Trimble I was responsible for liaising with the loyalist groups and encouraging them to honour their commitments to disarm,” he said. “In 2015, along with David Campbell and (Tony Blair’s former chief-of-staff) Jonathan Powell, I re-engaged with them and supported the establishment of the Loyalist Communities Council. “I retain the utmost respect for David Trimble, but he has been out of touch with loyalism for many years now. “His comments are in contrast to his earlier comments that the NI Protocol drove ‘a cart and horses through the Agreement’ and that he felt personally betrayed by the protocol’s imposition on Northern Ireland. “As someone who helped David sell the Agreement, I did so on the basis that it guaranteed the Union and ensured that no significant decision affecting the people of Northern Ireland would be taken unless both communities consented. “No such consent has been sought or been given by anyone in Northern Ireland to this protocol. The Belfast Agreement can only work if it works equally for all.” He added: “I support the LCC’S decision to withdraw their support until it is put right, and I also withdraw my support. “Unionism is united in its opposition to this protocol, but we may have differing views on how our opposition should be manifested. “David Trimble is supporting legal action, and I hope he is successful; but he is wrong to castigate the loyalist groups for seeking the restoration of all the Agreement’s rights and guarantees. I hope he reflects on this and revises his opinion.” The LCC letter to the UK and Irish Governments announcing its decision was signed by its chairman David Campbell, once a senior figure in the Ulster Unionist Party and chief-of-staff to Lord Trimble when he was First Minister. Speaking to The Times at the weekend, Mr Campbell warned that the UVF and UDA were under pressure from “radical elements” in their own ranks. “Young people are absolutely incensed by the protocol. The danger here is that any radical person who wants to start a movement that isn’t based on peace and constitutional means of protest, they will have a ready and receptive audience,” he said. “The leaderships of the loyalist groups, particularly since the ceasefires, could well be undone.”