Member's statement: Newry, Mourne and Down District Council: Threats
Member's statement by Mr Andrew McMurray on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew McMurray
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 2 December 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Newry, Mourne and Down District Council: Threats
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5271682
Read the official Assembly record
Text
It is the season of peace and goodwill to all men. It is also the season of Advent, which, Mr Speaker, I am sure that you are reflecting on. Advent defines the story of a young family making their journey in a challenging political, social and economic situation. I reflect on that story a lot, but some people in our society have missed the whole point of it. Last night, a threat was issued to all elected reps in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council against the council's decision to endorse the area as a council of sanctuary. At the outset, I stand in solidarity with all elected reps in Newry, Mourne and Down, be they councillors, MLAs or MPs, and with all parties sitting here today, because it is such a humbling and proud role to be an elected rep and serve society. I also thank the PSNI for the proactive role that it has taken. The issue has been ongoing, and the PSNI is working hard and was quick last night to phone around and offer support and advice. I will also say that having men in balaclavas standing in front of flags reading crumpled statements and holding guns has not defined my politics and does not define my politics, nor will it ever. What defines my politics is this: my party colleagues here and the political discourse with other parties in the Chamber, whether we agree or disagree. That is what moves society forward. I stand in solidarity with other elected reps, I thank the PSNI, and I completely refute the threats made by the group last night. On the matter of the city of sanctuary designation for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, the decision was the right, just and empathetic thing to do.
298 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: 0.11 (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).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.85).
- Subject area: Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers.
- 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 | 0.22 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.08 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.11 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.21 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.11 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.15 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.85 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.65 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.18 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.11 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.04 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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