Councillor suspended for linking LGBT community with Hamas support
A Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councilor has been suspended for three months by a standards watchdog over comments linking the LGBT community to support for Hamas.
Colin Kennedy made the remarks at a 2023 Ards and North Down Borough Council meeting during a debate on the war between Israel and Gaza.
Northern Ireland’s Local Government Standards Commissioner said his comments “exceeded what can be considered acceptable political discourse”.
Margaret Kelly considered that this “went beyond the protections afforded as a political representative under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights”. The DUP has been contacted for comment.
Kennedy was speaking in October 2023 as councilors debated a DUP motion condemning Hamas attacks on Israel and expressing hope for “an end to bloodshed in Israel and Gaza”.
During the debate, he said: “Don’t be surprised when those who enthusiastically support the LGBTQIA alphabet soup agenda in the West are the same ones who today seek to defend Hamas. »
Former Alliance party councilor Hannah Irwin, who was the council’s deputy mayor at the time, had urged Mr Kennedy to withdraw his comments.
“As a member of the LGBTQ community, I feel personally offended by this,” she added.
Kennedy said he would not retract his remarks, but added that he was happy to speak to Irwin next to “alleviate any concerns.”
Independent councilor Ray McKimm, who is gay, left the chamber in response to the exchange and others criticized Kennedy’s remarks.
“Personally hurtful”
A police investigation into the comments found they did not constitute hate speech, the local government standards commissioner’s office said.
Complaints were lodged separately with the standards watchdog and an arbitration hearing took place on Friday.
The commissioner found that Kennedy’s remarks violated the code of conduct for advisers.
The standards body said the decision against the councilor was “not a criticism of his right to express his political views”.
“Some of what he said exceeded the acceptable bounds of appropriate political speech, affected individuals who had characteristics protected by Northern Ireland law and was personally hurtful to a number of individuals,” he added.
The commissioner found that Kennedy had brought his position as an advisor into disrepute.
She imposed a three-month suspension after taking into account other factors, including a previous violation of the code of conduct.
Israel-Gaza War
The Palestinian militant group Hamas – designated a terrorist group by the UK and other countries – launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel said around 1,200 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage.
Since then, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 72,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced last October, and they have accused each other of violating it.
