This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

John McDonnell has withdrawn from speaking to the UK’s prison officers union following accusations from a delegate from Northern Ireland that he has supported the tactics of republican terrorists.

The shadow chancellor travelled on Wednesday to the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) annual conference in Southport, Merseyside, expecting to address dozens of delegates.



But he stood down from speaking following objections from a delegate and members, the union confirmed. One union member described him as “an IRA apologist”.



Prison officers in the province are regularly subjected to threats from paramilitaries. Two prison officers were murdered by dissident republicans in 2012 and 2014.



McDonnell was invited to the conference by the POA’s executive. He has been an honorary member since 2009 and regularly attends its conferences.



Delegates said he was waiting to speak when objections were raised with members of the executive by Northern Irish members and a delegate.

One source told the Guardian: “Some members from Northern Ireland were furious with the idea that he might address our members. He is the man who wanted to honour Irish political prisoners but it was our members being blown up for doing their jobs in those same prisons.”

Steve Gillan, the union’s general secretary, confirmed that McDonnell withdrew from speaking, but insisted that he had done so at his own accord.

“John McDonnell asked to be excused from addressing this year’s conference as he wanted to avoid any distractions from the union’s policy making discussions and campaigning plans.

“John has worked with and supported our union strongly over the years and has pledged to continue to do his utmost to support our union with pride and tenacity.”



A Labour spokesperson said: “John, as an honorary life member, attended the POA conference and had high-level meetings with the general secretary and officials. He chose not to address this year’s conference in order to avoid any distractions.”

McDonnell has apologised for some of the comments he had previously made in support of IRA hunger strikers.



In 2003, he said at an event remembering the death of the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands: “It’s about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA. Because of the bravery of the IRA and people like Bobby Sands, we now have a peace process.”

John McDonnell apologises ‘from the bottom of my heart’ for IRA comment Read more

In 2015, he told a Question Time audience: “If I gave offence – and I clearly have – from the bottom of my heart I apologise.”

In March, the Financial Times disclosed that a plaque hangs in his constituency office which commemorates Irish republican “martyrs” . At the bottom is a quote from Sands, who led the hunger strike, saying: “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”



McDonnell has insisted that he has rejected all political violence, adding that he had been trying to encourage republican hardliners to support the peace process at a delicate time.

Prison officers in Northern Ireland have been targeted by republican terrorists since the end of the Troubles in 1998. In November 2012, David Black was shot dead as he made his way to work at Maghaberry prison along the M1.



Adrian Ismay, who worked as a tutor in the Prison Service College, also died after a bomb exploded under his van in east Belfast in March 2016.

During the Troubles, prison staff were regularly targeted by paramilitaries on both sides of the divide, with the majority of attacks being carried out by republicans.

Prison officers from the six counties are still threatened by paramilitary groups.

In January, the names of Northern Irish prison officers were daubed on a wall in Londonderry in January along with a sniper’s crosshairs, according to the Irish News.

The words “We only have to be lucky once” and the letters “IRA” were painted on a nearby wall in the republican area, while the words “Maghaberry human rights abusers” were also daubed on another wall.