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DUP leader Gavin Robinson has accused the Burke family of “making a Father Ted show of themselves” at an event in Northern Ireland last weekend.
On Friday night, Martina Burke and her children, Ammi and Josiah, were thrown out of the La Mon Hotel in Comber, Co Down after Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan had invited them in for a chat when accused by the Burkes of “promoting LGBTQ+ ideology” in the hotel car park.
Once inside, Mrs Burke and her children berated the Minister before being ushered out of the building by plain-clothed police officers. A short time later, uniformed officers arrived on the scene while the family was filming outside.
The family returned to the hotel on Saturday, where the police were called again, and they were asked to leave.
Asked on BBC Radio Ulster’s TalkBack programme if he interacted with the family, Robinson said: “I think in good old Father Ted [style] they made some show of themselves, but there was no relevance for their presence, and I think perfectly honestly, if they are approaching this from a fundamentally honorable position of Christian faith, they didn’t demonstrate any Christian grace in their interaction with the people they did get talking to and I think that’s sorrowful,” reports Belfast Live.
“So I’ve had no interaction with the Burkes, and I don’t think there’s anything the Northern Ireland Executive can do to assist them with their quest for their brother in the Republic of Ireland’s separate jurisdiction.
“But what we can do is use the tools of devolution. What you saw was Paul Givan doing that very clearly when he withdrew, in light of the Supreme Court ruling, the guidance on gender issues in the Education Authority.
“It was a very important move. Something that adheres to the law and has nothing to do with the Burkes.”
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