Former UTV man reveals how

A FORMER UTV journalist has revealed how he employed a “ruse” to dodge wearing the poppy on screen for years.

But when Jamie Delargy finally took the decision to wear the symbol it taught him a lesson in how to influence people without using a “battering ram”.

The broadcaster, reflecting on the Stormont impasse on the Slugger O’Toole blog, revealed that “as an off screen producer and editor, I wasn’t asked or expected to wear a poppy”.

But when he started to appear on camera, “reporters and presenters were left to choose whether to wear poppies or not”.

“That freedom left me with a bit of a dilemma. I could wear the emblem and alienate one section of the audience or not wear