CONTROVERSIAL: DUP councillor Marc Collins and of his sectarian and racist comments.
29th June, 2022.
A controversial DUP councillor has been suspended for eight months by the standards watchdog over "abusive" posts on Twitter about Sinn Féin North Belfast Westminster MP John Finucane.
RETWEET: DUP councillor Marc Collins retweeted from @TheBull39
Marc Collins was found to have breached the councillors' code of conduct due to two tweets during the 2019 Westminster election campaign.
The Mid and East Antrim councillor posted a message in November 2019 alleging that Mr Finucane "supports and promotes the IRA" and "isn't innocent by any means".
He also retweeted a message promoting (Pictured above) a controversial banner erected in West Belfast's Shankill area which contained allegations against several members of Mr Finucane's family.
A complaint was received by the Local Government Ethical Standards Directorate and an investigation report was sent to the Local Government Standards Commissioner for consideration.
Acting commissioner Katrin Shaw found that Mr Collins' Twitter activity "went beyond the acceptable bounds of proper political debate" and was "unnecessary and personally abusive".
His tweets also "contributed towards a toxic atmosphere" in the North Belfast constituency during the election campaign and resulted in Mr Finucane "believing that his own and his family's safety were in jeopardy".
Ms Shaw found that Mr Collins had failed to comply with the respect principle which underpins the councillors' code of conduct.
An adjudication hearing to determine a sanction was held last Friday. Mr Collins did not attend the hearing, which had twice been rescheduled
In submissions to the watchdog, Mr Collins argued that sharing a post on Twitter via a retweet was not necessarily an endorsement of its contents.
Mr Collins also said that Mr Finucane had addressed a republican Easter commemoration in North Belfast's Ardoyne area in 2018 - a commemoration which the councillor said "traditionally remembers and celebrates the IRA".
In a witness statement, Mr Finucane said that at the time of the contentious banners being erected there was a "level of toxicity" in North Belfast that he had never experienced before.
MP for North Belfast Sinn Féin's John Finucane
"I was still Mayor of Belfast at the time and had concerns for my own and my family’s personal safety," he said.
Mr Finucane, who was subsequently elected MP for North Belfast, added: "I consider what Councillor Collins tweeted to be a very deliberate thing in an already aggravated situation. Councillor Collins has attempted to identify me with the alleged actions of others."
In determining a sanction, the acting commissioner considered mitigating factors including that Mr Collins had no previous record of breaching the code of conduct.
She also considered a letter from him in which he said he did not intend any harm to Mr Finucane or his family, and he apologised for not engaging with the investigation and adjudication process.
However, the acting commissioner regarded as serious aggravating factors that Mr Collins' tweets had "contributed towards a toxic atmosphere" at the time and "resulted in Mr Finucane believing that his own and his family's safety were in jeopardy".
Ms Shaw also said the councillor failing to engage in the investigation and adjudication process had resulted in unnecessary costs to the public purse.
After considering previous decisions and the seriousness of the breaches, the acting commissioner imposed on Mr Collins an eight-month suspension from his council role.
With many thanks to: Belfast Live and Brendan Hughes Politicial reporter for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story: New DUP councillor apologies after calling former Sinn Féin minister 'Dirty W******r'!
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