The Ulster Unionist Party Leader Doug Beattie MC MLA has demanded an apology from the EU following comments attributed to a senior diplomat and published in the media at the weekend.  

Doug Beattie MC MLA, said:

“The comments attributed to a senior EU diplomat that ‘we are ready for peace, but prepared for war’ are scandalous. This isn’t a game. They are playing with people`s lives and needlessly ramping up tensions that will have consequences for the people of Northern Ireland who deserve better.

“I have repeatedly warned senior EU diplomats face to face that they must be mindful of rhetoric and megaphone diplomacy, bypassing elected representatives in Northern Ireland. Consequently, I am disgusted that they have now gone down this rabbit hole.

“At the time, I spoke directly to the EU Ambassador to the UK João Vale de Almeida, Maroš Šefčovič, Simon Coveney and the Taoiseach himself about this very issue.

“I would urge the EU to immediately withdraw these comments and admonish the diplomat who uttered them. They owe the people of Northern Ireland an apology.

“The people of Northern Ireland need solutions to the problems caused by the Protocol, not heightened tensions and war-like rhetoric.”