Councillor suspended for linking LGBT community with Hamas support

A Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor has been suspended for three months by a standards watchdog over comments linking the LGBT community with support for Hamas.

Colin Kennedy made the remarks at a meeting of Ards and North Down Borough Council in 2023 during a debate on the Israel-Gaza war.

The Northern Ireland local government standards commissioner found his comments "overstepped what may be regarded as acceptable political speech".

Margaret Kelly found it therefore "went beyond the protections afforded as a political representative under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights". The DUP has been approached for comment.

Kennedy was speaking in October 2023 as councillors debated a DUP motion condemning attacks by Hamas on Israel and expressing hope for "an end to the bloodshed in Israel and Gaza".

During the debate he said: "Do not be surprised when those who enthusiastically endorse the LGBTQIA alphabet soup agenda in the West are the very same people who are now seeking to defend Hamas."

Former Alliance Party councillor Hannah Irwin, who was the council's deputy mayor at the time, had urged Mr Kennedy to retract his comments.

"As a member of the LGBTQ community I feel pretty personally offended by it," she added.

Kennedy said he would not withdraw his remarks, but added he was happy to speak to Irwin afterwards to "assuage any concerns she might have".

Independent councillor Ray McKimm, who is gay, left the chamber in response to the exchange and others criticised Kennedy's remarks.

A police investigation into the comments found they did not amount to hate speech, the office of the Local Government Commissioner for Standards said.

Complaints were separately made to the standards watchdog and an adjudication hearing was held on Friday.

The commissioner found Kennedy's remarks breached the councillors' code of conduct.

The standards body said the finding against the councillor was "not a criticism of his right to express his political views".

"Rather some of what he said went beyond the acceptable bounds of proper political speech, affected individuals who had protected characteristics in Northern Ireland law, and was personally hurtful to a number of individuals," it added.

The commissioner found Kennedy had brought his position as a councillor "into disrepute".

She imposed a three-month suspension after considering other factors, including a previous breach of the code of conduct.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas - designated as a terrorist group by the UK and other countries - launched an attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

Israel said around 1,200 people were killed and hundreds of people were taken hostage.

Israel's attacks on Gaza since then have killed more than 72,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

A fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced last October, which they have accused each other of breaching.