Belfast's first republican Lord Mayor tonight provoked dismay among unionists by announcing he is to install an Irish tricolour in his office at City Hall.
Sinn Féin's Mr Alex Maskey will have the flag put into the mayoral study tomorrow in a bid to achieve greater equality. But his predecessor, the Ulster Unionist Councillor Jim Rodgers, said tonight: 'This is a sad day for Belfast.'
Mr Maskey has vowed to represent all traditions following his historic election earlier this year. He insisted however that the time had come for the green, white and orange tricolour to take its place alongside the Union flag in his office.
He said: 'If you look at the City Hall environment with everything from the wars to the monarchy and so on, the British link, that's for those people from that particular community. 'But it's four years on from Good Friday and I think people have a right to expect the practical effect of equality measures being taken.'
But Mr Rodgers said: 'I'm not at all surprised by his decision but I would remind him that the city of Belfast is part of Northern Ireland and the flag of our country is the Union flag. No other flag should be flown.
'When I was Lord Mayor and I went to the Irish Republic I had no difficulty being photographed beside the Irish tricolour but Northern Ireland is part of the UK. 'This is the reason why we opposed him being elected.'