Member's statement: Pam Cameron MLA: Fabricated Video

Member's statement by Mrs Pam Cameron on 18 May 2026.

MLA: Mrs Pam Cameron
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 18 May 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Pam Cameron MLA: Fabricated Video
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5547955

Text

Last Friday, Sinn Féin's official youth wing posted a video clip online that, it insinuated, was a statement made by me attacking the Communities Minister during a Committee session. The post described the statement as "not AI", implying that it was therefore factual. The post has received many comments and views. Its intention was clearly to bring negative, unwanted personal attention towards me and to intimidate, humiliate and gag me. It will do nothing of the sort. It was a complete misrepresentation of the facts. I quoted word for word the inaccurate and fabricated statement of the Committee Chair, Colm Gildernew, from the Sinn Féin website. I ask that the First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, ensures that the post is removed and that she distances herself from that potentially defamatory content. While I understand and accept that the use of social media clips to highlight a disagreement or offer a differing view is part and parcel of political discourse in the House, I am disgusted by the post and ask why it was deemed necessary. Perhaps it was inspired by the behaviour of the Chair and Deputy Chair, who seem content to heap abuse on members of my party simply for doing their job with honesty and openness. Perhaps they were buoyed by the Chair's comment that members would decide what facts they believed, while disregarding the actual evidence and deciding to post a fabricated video to support the Sinn Féin narrative. Thursday's Committee session was a complete farce because of the TikTok-making theme of pelting words at the Minister and then continually interrupting and speaking over him and, laughably, trying to pretend that it was a form of scrutiny. I must put it on record, however, that no Committee member was involved in that other than the Sinn Féin members.
In an era when it is difficult to put anything on social media without facing a barrage of abuse, especially as a woman, I ask the First Minister to call out that dishonest, childish and malicious behaviour that was, without doubt, inspired by Sinn Féin's coordinated, personal attack on the Communities Minister, who is being demonised for delivering for more than one side of the community. Having served on many Committees in the Northern Ireland Assembly over many years, I have never experienced anything like the debacle that was dressed up as a scrutiny Committee last week. It saddens me, because we are all responsible for what the public witness in this place. Robust challenging is expected to be a fair and necessary part of those proceedings, but that cannot be replaced by personal attacks that are peddled as legitimate political activity or some variation of truth. Let me state, for the avoidance of doubt and to help those behind that pathetic activity, that I am in full support of the Communities Minister and believe that, like me, he is more than willing to demonstrate tolerance, accountability and cooperation at Committee and in the Chamber, providing, of course, that our voices are allowed to be heard in the first place.

510 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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