Sinn Féin walk-out after claiming discussion on violence against women 'hijacked'

At this month’s Full Council Meeting, and following s meeting on Monday to address violence against women and girls, Derry Mayor and SDLP councillor, Lilian Barr, proposed a number of council actions to “reaffirm its commitment to ending violence against women and girls”.

During discussions around the motion, councillor Brian Tierney took the opportunity to address the chamber and issue an apology, following the recent news that he provided a court character reference for an ex-soldier who was subsequently jailed for raping a female colleague, a reference he later withdrew when the nature of the charges became clear.

This led to some debate among members around whether councillor Tierney should resign, and if council members should be banned from giving references.

During the discussion a number of Sinn Féin councillors left the chamber, and at a later point in the meeting Sinn Féin member Christopher Jackson said there was “disgust” within his party as talks had been “hijacked”.

He put forward a proposal, which was ultimately unsuccessful, to adjourn the meeting until the next day to “allow people to come to terms and reflect on what’s been said”.

Councillor Jackson said the matter “completely distracted from the thrust of the main issue that we were here to discuss”.

“It was extremely disappointing. There were members of our team that felt sick to their stomachs that Brian Tierney tried to portray himself as a victim, and that was backed up by his political friends,” he claimed.

“Regardless of [how] nice of a person Brian is, and how good of a friend, the message around violence against women and a zero tolerance approach was completely lost.

“That has left a lot of people extremely uncomfortable within our team and they felt that they weren’t able to continue this meeting.”

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin agreed that the meeting should have been adjourned, but argued that it wasn’t clear to him or other members why councillor Jackson and his colleagues had walked out.

Independent councillor Gary Donnelly denied being part of an alliance and assured members that his remarks about councillor Tierney were “heartfelt”.

Councillor Donnelly concluded: “I’ll be straight; you waltzed out of here after one of your colleagues gave us a lecture, then you waltz back in and make a proposal.

“You’re not the victims in this and there’s an element, of what you’re saying, as if you’re some type of victims.”

“It was a debate, it was an open discussion, and everybody should have their say.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local democracy Reporter.