THE SINN Féin lord mayor of Belfast, Niall Ó Donnghaile, has apologised for refusing to present a Duke of Edinburgh award to a 15-year-old female British army cadet.
DUP and Ulster Unionist councillors Robin Newton and David Brown accused Mr Ó Donnghaile of “petty bigotry” in refusing to present the award to the girl on Monday because she was a cadet.
More than 200 protesters demonstrated outside Belfast City Hall last night, calling for Mr Ó Donnghaile to resign.
Earlier yesterday Mr Ó Donnghaile said he apologised if his actions had caused offence. But later he gave a fuller apology.
“I accept that my decision not to present an award to a British army cadet has caused genuine annoyance. I apologise to anyone who has been offended, and in particular the young woman involved and her family,” he said.
“I have never and would never go out of my way to cause offence to anyone. In any society moving out of conflict, we all need to be very conscious of how we deal with sensitive issues,” he added.
