Undermining the Public Health Message

Part of Matter of the Day – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 1:15 pm on 14 June 2021.

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Photo of Alan Chambers Alan Chambers UUP 1:15, 14 June 2021

I am not on my feet this afternoon to defend the Health Minister, because he does not need to be defended in the court of public opinion. His leadership and dignity throughout the pandemic have been beyond reproach.

What we witnessed in the Europa Hotel that night was childish, irrational, unfair and totally uncalled for. People say that you should try to avoid meeting your heroes because you might be disappointed when you do. What happened was a perfect example of that, if, indeed, any of us needed to learn that. The only saving grace is that it got little traction in the room, I am pleased to say. A few people applauded, but it did not get the traction that, I think, Mr Morrison thought it would.

You could maybe make excuses for people who are not public representatives and do not think about the consequences of their words, which is the case for Mr Morrison, but a Member of Parliament really should know the consequences of their actions and words and what the public reaction to them will be. I understand that the Member of Parliament has apologised to the Health Minister, but he possibly also needs to apologise to the Minister's Executive colleagues, because he stood outside that hotel and said that the Executive "couldn't run a bath". That is hardly an endorsement of an Executive who have guided us and will continue to guide us through the pandemic.

We are talking about being "dangerous", and the message that went out that night was dangerous. It was an insult — a major insult — to all those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic and to the tens of thousands who made sacrifices to try to curtail the spread of the virus. At the end of the day, all Mr Morrison achieved was the loss of friends. I dare say that the MP for North Antrim possibly lost friends as well.