Paul , the breathtaking hypocrisy of this would be almost comical if the subject weren't so serious. So let's get this right before we assume too much: you want unionism to stop looking inwards and focus exclusively on Sinn Féin's alleged lawbreaking? Seriously, Paul? With the DUP's record? Let's refresh your memory. Your former party leader was recently convicted of appalling sexual offences and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Let's not forget William Ball, Former DUP councillor, convicted of historical sexual offences; oh, and Thomas Hogg, Former DUP mayor, convicted of attempting to incite a 15-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity. What about Ian Stevenson, Former DUP councillor and mayor, convicted of sexual assault, and William Wilkinson, Former DUP councillor, convicted of rape. And then there is Desmond Stewart, former DUP mayor, jailed for electoral fraud involving care-home votes. Jeysus Paul, Quite the collection of criminal convictions for a party whose representatives seem perpetually determined to lecture everyone else about law and order. And we're not finished, Paul. Gavin Robinson, your CURRENT party leader, has faced police scrutiny over alleged unlawful road obstruction at Ballybeen. Have you convicted him in your Kangaroo court, just like you have Michelle O'Neill and Mary lou McDonald, given tht they are the same thing? Sammy Wilson has faced a parliamentary standards investigation over an alleged failure to declare an interest and Gregory Campbell has faced an investigation concerning parliamentary office spending. Neither parliamentary investigation should be mistaken for a criminal conviction, but surely scrutiny and accountability matter regardless of political allegiance?And how could we forget Iris Robinson, former DUP MP and MLA, at the centre of the notorious £50,000 financial scandal involving her former lover? Accountability matters, correct? And we haven't even mentioned RHI and Arlene Foster, the sectarian remarks and slander over the decades from party leaders and MPs from within the DUP directly demoinsing catholics Yet your message to unionism is effectively, Don't look at any of that. Keep pointing at Sinn Féin. You couldn't invent this stuff. When you demand sanctions for political opponents while actively discouraging scrutiny within your own political tradition, you're inviting some very uncomfortable questions about double standards. Perhaps the most revealing part of your statement is the suggestion that examining unionism's own conduct somehow amounts to punishing unionists. No, Paul. It's called accountability. The rule of law is not a DUP pick-and-mix where republicans get the lectures and unionists get the benefit of political solidarity. If you genuinely believe nobody is above the law, demonstrate it consistently. Because demanding accountability from everyone else while telling your own side to stop looking in the mirror isn't principled leadership. It's political double standards dressed up as moral authority.

Ah, the selective outrage is quite something. Apparently, a government minister being interviewed by the police is now an unprecedented event that no democracy could possibly tolerate. Really? Where the feck have you been for the last 30 years? Remember DUP councillor Ruth Patterson, who was arrested in 2013 over comments concerning a hypothetical attack on a republican parade or former DUP MP Iris Robinson who was questioned by police during an investigation into her financial affairs. Surely you remember UUP councillor and former MLA Derek Hussey who was arrested and questioned following a road traffic incident. Ohh and DUP councillor Thomas Hogg faced police action and was charged with drink-driving. How can you forget Loyalist protest organiser Willie Frazer who was arrested during the 2013 flags dispute. Your own armchair loyalist Jamie Bryson was arrested during the loyalist protests and subsequently convicted of offences involving unlawful processions and obstructing traffic. And let’s not forget current DUP leader Gavin Robinson, who attended a 2025 anti-immigration demonstration involving allegations of road obstruction. The PSNI is reviewing footage for potential offences. These cases involved different allegations, circumstances and outcomes. But they certainly demonstrate that police scrutiny of unionist politicians and prominent loyalist figures is nothing new Here’s the particularly delicious irony, when Patterson was arrested, the DUP complained that she should have been offered a voluntary police interview. Now Michelle O’Neill attends a voluntary interview, cooperates with the PSNI, and suddenly we’re supposed to believe democracy itself is under threat! Give over, for goodness’ sake. If Michelle O’Neill broke the law, let the investigation and courts determine that. Nobody should be above the law. But an interview is not a conviction. And neither the right to parade nor the right to protest is absolute. The principle is straightforward, the same law, the same scrutiny and the same accountability for everyone. Not one standard for unionist politicians and loyalist protesters and another for Michelle O’Neill. That’s what equality before the law actually means.