Democratic Unionist MP targeted after saying he would ‘treat as toilet paper’ any move to give Gaelic equal status to English

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A unionist MP who caused outrage after mocking the Irish language has received a death threat.

Gregory Campbell’s constituency office in East Londonderry confirmed it had been warned by police of a serious threat to the Democratic Unionist MP’s life.

On Saturday, Campbell repeated his mockery of Irish during a speech to the DUP’s annual conference, near Belfast. Earlier this month, he made fun of the Sinn Féin culture minister in the Stormont parliament with the words: “curry my yoghurt can coca coal yer” – a send-up of the Irish for “thank you, speaker.”

Despite complaints from Sinn Féin as well as the SDLP and Irish-language organisations, Campbell continued to mock Gaelic. From the platform of the DUP conference in La Mon hotel at the weekend, the MP produced a pot of yoghurt and a tin of curry paste to emphasise that he would not apologise for the insult.

He also warned he would “treat as toilet paper” any move to introduce an Irish Language Act in Northern Ireland, which would put Gaelic on an equal status to English.

The row has poisoned the already toxic atmosphere at talks aimed at resolving outstanding issues from the peace process, including flags, marches and the legacy of the Troubles.

John O’Dowd, Sinn Féin’s education minister in the Stormont government, said Campbell’s stance showed the DUP was not dedicated to resolving these issues at the talks, chaired by the former US presidential candidate Gary Hart. The DUP was instead “peddling a myth” that they were committed to serious negotiations, he said.

The Ulster Unionist leader, Mike Nesbitt, condemned the threat to Campbell as well as the DUP MP’s attitude towards Gaelic.

“Whatever people think of Gregory Campbell, or his comments about the Irish language, violence is not the way forward. I call on those responsible for this death threat to make it clear it is withdrawn. I support the police in their efforts to bring those responsible to justice,” he said.

“I also regret that Mr Campbell has chosen to repeat his insult to the Irish language. I am still not clear what point he is trying to make, but the impact is crystal clear. It is highly damaging to community relations.”