Member's statement: Andy Allen: Invictus Games
Member's statement by Mr Mike Nesbitt on .
- MLA
- Mr Mike Nesbitt
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 17 February 2025
- Type
- Member's statement (made as a minister)
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Andy Allen: Invictus Games
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4802370
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I am sure that Members will have noticed the absence of one of our colleagues in recent days. I refer to the Ulster Unionist Party Member for East Belfast, Andy Allen MBE MLA. He has not been idle. He has been in Whistler, Canada, participating in the Invictus Games. He entered four events and achieved a medal in all four: a full suite of gold, silver and bronze. He won a bronze in the Nordic cross-country sit skiing; two silvers, one as a member of the UK wheelchair rugby team and another in his own right for the one-minute sprint rowing event; and a gold medal, again in rowing, for the four-minute endurance. He is a sprinter and an endurance athlete. Those are remarkable achievements for a man who suffered such life-threatening injuries while serving Queen and country in Afghanistan in 2008. At 20 years of age, he lost both his legs to above-knee amputations, and his sight was severely impaired, as a result of being caught up in a Taliban IED in the Helmand province. As party leader, I was delighted, some years ago, to co-opt Andy into the Chamber to replace his predecessor, Michael Copeland, who retired due to ill health. Andy has gone on to become a four-time MLA, having been elected in his own right in 2016, 2017 and 2022. He has also been a great public servant not only in this place but for veterans. Andy Allen's veteran service support group was set up to help veterans and their families, and he did so well that he received an MBE in 2019. His family, including his wife, Natalie, and his three children, will be very proud of his achievements in Whistler. It is a matter of pride for them, for veterans, for this party and for the Assembly. In all the years that I have known Andy, there has been not a scintilla of self-pity but endless determination. If I may, Mr Speaker, I suggest that it would be entirely appropriate were you to host a reception to welcome back the four-time medallist, Andy Allen.
350 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.03 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.96 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.03 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:57 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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