DUP councillor Marc Collins suspended over tweets about Sinn Féin MP John Finucane
The DUP's Marc Collins has been suspended from his role as a councillor for eight months, following a series of tweets he posted about a Sinn Féin MP.
He has been suspended from his Mid and East Antrim Borough Council position following an adjudication hearing held on Friday, 24 June.
He was found to have breached the council's code of conduct by posting a tweet on 18 November 2019, and a retweet the following day, which included reference to John Finucane, Sinn Féin’s Westminster election candidate for North Belfast at the time.
A DUP spokesman said: "The investigation outcome has just been published. We will consider the finding."
Mr Collins’ tweet included unsubstantiated allegations about Mr Finucane.
The retweet concerned a message promoting banners erected in the Shankill area of Belfast, which contained allegations against several members of the Finucane family.
The sanction was imposed after a complaint about the tweets was received by the Local Government Ethical Standards Directorate, and an investigation report sent to the acting commissioner for her consideration.
The acting commissioner concluded that councillor’s Twitter activity went beyond the acceptable bounds of proper political debate and was unnecessary and personally abusive.
In failing to show respect for Mr Finucane and his family, she found that Mr Collins had failed to comply with the respect principle which underpins the Code.
The adjudication hearing to determine a sanction was re-scheduled on two occasions as a result of Mr Collins’ unavailability.
He was reminded of the hearing date of 24 June , and was again asked to confirm whether he intended to make any submissions.
No response was received from Mr Collins and he did not attend the sanctions hearing.
The acting commissioner considered the mitigating factors in this case, including; that Mr Collins had no previous record of breaching the Code, a letter written by him saying that he did not intend to harm Mr Finucane or his family, and his apology for not engaging with the investigation and adjudication process.
However, the acting commissioner considered that it was a serious aggravating factor that Mr Collins’ tweets contributed towards a toxic atmosphere in north Belfast at the time of the General Election.
The tweets had also resulted in Mr Finucane believing that his own and his family’s safety were in jeopardy, the acting commissioner found.
She further noted that the councillor’s failure to engage in the investigation and adjudication process had resulted in unnecessary costs to the public purse.
Noting previous decisions and the seriousness of the breaches, the acting commissioner considered that a period of suspension of eight months was a necessary and proportionate response to the breaches found.
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