DUP MPs support Asda employee over 'sash' row

Published Saturday, 24 July 2010

An employee at Asda and convicted killer who was sacked then reinstated after comments he made about the 'sash' was given support by two DUP MPs.

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On Wednesday it was revealed checkout worker Billy Hunter was handed a life sentence for shooting Thomas and John McErlane 35 years ago.

The Catholic brothers were work colleagues of Mr Hunter's when he lured them to a flat in the Mount Vernon estate back in 1975.

He shot them both in the head.

It has now emerged messages were posted from the Facebook accounts of Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds on a page set up to support the 54-year-old.

They offered him their congratulations on getting his job back following an appeal.

Mr Donaldson's message on the 'Support Billy Hunter' page reads:

"Congratulations to everyone who supported his campaign"

"Delighted with the result and that common sense did in the end prevail"

"Well done to Billy and his team"

The Lagan Valley MP has defended his comments and told UTV although he wasn't aware of Mr Hunter's past before he made the remarks he has no regrets.

"He is entitled in law to have protection in relation to his employment rights" he said.

"That does not mean we endorse in anyway anything he has done in the past"

"At the same time those who criticise Unionists for standing up for the employment rights of an individual are the very same people who demand that we work in government who have themselves committed the same type of offences" he added.

A similar post from Mr Dodds Facebook account reads:

"Great news that Billy has been reinstated and Asda have used common sense to resolve the situation"

"Well done to all those involved"

"This has been a great victory for the people of the Shore Road"

Public support

Billy Hunter was fired from his position at the north Belfast branch of the supermarket chain for allegedly asking a delivery driver who was playing music in the company car park to play the 'sash' instead of pop music.

Four days of protests were held outside the store last Friday, Saturday and Sunday supporting him and calling for Asda to give him his job back.

Another post on the Facebook page by Mr Donaldson reads:

"This decision by Asda is entirely wrong"

"Are we not trying to build a shared future in Northern Ireland"

"It seems that those who cannot tolerate the culture or traditions of others are to be allowed to determine the way we live our lives"

A message from Mr Dodds account reads:

"Having spoken to Billy personally I am very concerned about his treatment. I believe Asda should not have sacked him"

"If his crime is to mention the sash in an off the cuff remark where is the mutual respect and shared society in Northern Ireland?"

"I have told Asda reps that the situation has been badly handled by them"

"Come on Asda and have a bit of sense!"

Following an independent appeal the store confirmed in a statement on Tuesday Mr Hunter was reinstated after "he expressed regret for the unintentional offence caused by the words he used when speaking to customers at the store" but details of his past followed that announcement.

The McErlane family has been seeking a face-to-face meeting with Asda's management.

Comments

35 Comments

BIG ERNEST in east antrim wrote (660 days ago):

seamus; gerry kelly stated just over 1 year ago that he would shoot a prison officer again in the head when talking about escaping from the maze !!!!!! he has never stated that his actions where wrong either seamus has he ? he is a junior minister is he not ? not once has he ever condemned his past either !! as for reuniting the country seamus , dream on on that front , tell gerry the same !! residents groups are a front for the ira seamus you idiot , dont ever try to say they are not , you'll get a huge egg on your face , as for the rest of your history rant lol, unionists see those who you refer to as members of their community , sf are not , sf/ira murder that particular community in the most henious ways !! did you forget that seamus ? they also wanted the same end result , the destruction of sf/ira , as for nationalist representitives seamus , the political parties of unionism have had no beef with say the sdlp , it is only sf so stop talking rubbish with the nationalist representitives quote , you know your lying !! bottom line is seamus , gerry kelly is no better than billy hunter , they have both served time , both murdered and i suspect both want to see this country move away from the past , you called billy hunter undoubtedly a sectarian bigot and for that you are no better seamus like gerry kelly is too , never forget that seamus , could go on and on but your not worht the trouble . as for the pup and udp , seamus look and see who sf/ira ly in the gutter with , it makes the udp pup links to unionism look like a tea party .

seamas in belfast wrote (666 days ago):

BE. Gerry Kelly is an Irish Republican who believes he no longer needs violence to achieve his political aim of reuniting the country. He did at one time think violence was the answer but now he’s part of a republican leadership trying to move the organisation away from it. My point about Nigel Dodds and Jeffrey Donaldson is that they have used Sinn Fein’s association with the IRA and violence as an excuse for refusing to meet with them. The Orange Order to this day refuses to meet with residents groups because they claim they are a front for the IRA. Unionists have always presented themselves as democrats who were horrified by violence. This has prevented them from engaging with Nationalist representatives and seriously delayed the peace process. Curiously though it hasn’t prevented them associating with Billy Wright or Michael Stone. Unionists have supported UDP and PUP candidates in Council and visited notorious loyalist killers in gaol all the while throwing their hands up in horror at the very suggestion that they meet Gerry Adams or Mitchel McLaughlin.

BIG ERNEST in east antrim wrote (666 days ago):

seamus; there is no doubt that billy hunter was a cold blooded sectarian killer , yet how many have gone done that road from both communities seamus ? what about gerry kelly seeing as you point the finger at dodds and donaldson ? is gerry kelly a better man than billy hunter seamus for example ? gerry has murdered more than billy for starters mate !! anyway seamus what about those from the nationalist community that vote for murderers ? are you a voter for murder by voting for sf ? if you do then who are you to comment on anything being morally right !! it is people like you seamus that makes this country what it is , stuck in the past , finally seamus , where is your comments condemning those republican gunmen out operating over the past week ? where is your comments condemning those who attack orange halls ? your no better and never forget this seamus !!

TREVOR THE ENGLISHMAN ha !! ; trevor the only small minded person here is you , where have you commented other than the story about bobby moffet , mark harbinson and billy hunter today ? you state that all loyalists are drug dealers , paedophiles and now you accuse me of being a loyalist too , i pity you , i really do , also this english thing you claim to be , why wont you admit your a supporter of republican murder gangs ? they are as bad as loyalists or do you know something the rest of the world does not know about them ? as for this person to be labeled the scum of the earth in england , one name - roaul moat !!! over 50,000 people signed up to him on face book trevor to show their support for him , says it all about england then !! it is about time you took your head out of the sand and if you state you dont support republican terrorist scum then prove it by commenting on the stories that utv carry everyday about republicans trying to murder and bomb , there are 6 stories on utv at the moment yet you have no comments left , is that a surprise ? i think not seeing as your clearly someone who likes to think he knows best when facts are your talk is pointless !!

tom c in Shore Road Belfast wrote (666 days ago):

I refer to my previous comments in relation to this. The only people responsible for highlighting this are the misguided mob who decided to protest on the streets, without knowing the background. They should be the persons held to account on here, not MPs, not Billy Hunter, not the McErlane family....the mob are responsible for this mess, without them it wouldn't have sniffed a headline never mind make one. Even now on Facebook they're unrepentant, and strangely quieter than before this came to light.

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