ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email Print Lairdie, Lairdie by admin 16 June, 2013, 2:41 pm 0 Comments 26 — villageJune – July 2013THe political demise of ulster unionist, lord laird, who has lost the party whip after being stung by the Daily Telegraph/BBC Panorama in the latest ‘cash for access’ scandal, may not be as shocking to those who have observed, and been at the receiving end, of his political antics over the years. The good lord is a public-relations man who has always been alive to opportunities to improve his own fnances through his vital political work in the British upper house as these latest revelations appear to confrm. Previously, he had been prominent through his role as chairman of the ulster scots agency which he vigorously promoted as a counterpunch to what he perceived as the ‘Fenian’-inspired Irish-language movement in the North. His eforts to politicise the language issue did not go down well with the scottish language-enthusiasts, or the Irish ones. He also worked as an advisor to the loyalist Commission, an assortment of unionists and former loyalist paramilitaries as they sought to challenge the republican and nationalist narrative during the early years of the peace process.His elevation to the House of lords in 1999 provided him with a unique platform from which to ply his particular brand of polit-ically-loaded propaganda which also happened to coincide with the interests of some of his clients. In early 2005, he launched a vitriolic attack on former Taoiseach, Bertie ahern, over the latter’s alleged links to former trade-union ofcial, Phil Flynn, then under investigation in relation to the Northern Bank rob-bery. later in the year he abused his parliamentary privilege when entering into the controversy surrounding the newly-established Centre for Public Inquiry, and in particular this writer, when he accused it of being an “intelligence gathering operation” for sinn Féin. In a remarkable coincidence, both stories had been a matter of considerable interest to the Sunday Independentwhich then ran lengthy and “exclusive” extracts from lord laird’s “priv-ileged” speeches. Coincidental too, that lord laird acted as a paid Pr consultant to the news-paper. In 2002, he provoked the ire of the late Inez McCormack (the frst female president of ICTu) who complained to the uN over laird’s “misuse” of parliamentary privilege to attack the Belfast-based human-rights group, Committee for the administration of Justice, which had a strong record of revealing abuses by the British security forces in the North.In 2005, laird went on to claim in the lords that there were 200 Ira “sleepers” in high places in the republic, a claim that also resonated with the more hysterical outbursts from the Sindo. during the same year he found himself in hot water when it emerged that while chairman of the ulster-scots agency, laird had spent in excess of £2500 of public money on taxis between Belfast and dublin.His penchant for highlighting, under lords privilege, issues that appealed to the muck-raking tendencies of the Sindo, and the vibrant reciproc-ity of Ireland’s best-selling sunday, must have seemed like a marriage made in heaven at the time but lord laird’s habit of digging ever deeper holes for himself has prejudiced the relationship more recently.There was scarcely a peep out of the newspaper in March when laird defended his cli-ent, us businessman Christopher Knight, against allegations of child sexual abuse. Knight did not contest charges in Florida that he had sexually assaulted a victim, then 12 to 15 years old, in 2003. laird described the allegations as a “minor misdemeanour”, although he later apologised for his remarks after being rebuked by uuP leader, Mike Nesbitt. He said the ill-advised comments arose from his “professional association” with Knight who was seeking to invest in the Belfast Giants hockey team.It will be interesting to note the response of the Sindoto the televised disclosure that its favourite peer is accused of seeking £2000 per month in exchange for getting questions raised in the lords that could be helpful to the authori-ties in Fiji. “I’ll deny having said this, but it’s a bribe….the sort of thing I can say to these guys…you put that question down now, I thought you were inter-ested in Fiji, would you like to come down to it, you know, I believe it’s quite nice… I can whisper that”, laird was recorded as saying to undercover journalists posing as representatives of the Fiji government. on this occasion, Nesbitt decided an apology was not enough and, pending the outcome of a review by westminster authorities, asked laird to resign the party whip. frank connolly newsLairdie, Lairdieresigned lord laird’s symbiotic relationsip with the Sindoover the years promoted some regressive causesLaird laid barei’ll deny having said this, but it’s a bribe….’“ 27 ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email See more Previous article Hempathy Back All Entries Next article Iona Institute misrepresented research
