Member's statement: Glengormley: Sectarian Attacks
Member's statement by Mr Phillip Brett on .
- MLA
- Mr Phillip Brett
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 12 May 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Glengormley: Sectarian Attacks
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5528237
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Another week and yet another disgraceful attack in what is a coordinated and continued campaign of intimidation of the unionist community of Glengormley. In recent months, we have witnessed an attack on our Orange arch, for which there was a conviction. We have seen the attempted destruction of our war memorial; local businesses covered with anti-protestant, anti-unionist graffiti; and our local St John Ambulance station attacked with sectarian graffiti. This weekend, we saw the erection of a poster that stated:
"Shoot your local Orange bastard".
I repeat:
"Shoot your local Orange bastard".
The silence from the media and others who have the honour to represent Glengormley has been deafening. For months, the unionist community in the town that I am proud to come from has had no one to stand up and call out those actions, with the exception of this party. This party removed the sign and reported it to the police, because we are proud of the fact that our town is a mixed community. We are proud that people from all backgrounds, traditions and none come together to celebrate the traditions of Glengormley. I have a message for the scumbags who are responsible: you will not stop us from remembering our war dead; you will not stop us from celebrating our culture; and you will not intimidate the unionist community out of Glengormley, as you may wish to do. We will continue to proudly remember our war dead and to proudly remember and celebrate our culture. As the saying goes, "We aren't going away, you know". Today and every day, I will stand with my friends and neighbours in that proud mixed community. I call on the parties that claim to call out sectarianism to take one second out of their day to condemn the absolutely disgraceful acts that continue to happen weekly in Glengormley.
308 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Not flagged on a second assessment, because Jev’s answers did not settle it. The reasons are given below.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.47 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.96); Cultural grievance politics (0.87).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.61).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The answers did not meet either automatic 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.
Second assessment
Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works
- Verdict
- Not flagged
- Public interest or divisiveness
- Mainly advances the public interest
Against the published rubric
The statement condemns a series of sectarian incidents in Glengormley, including damage to an Orange arch and a war memorial, sectarian graffiti and a poster reading "Shoot your local Orange bastard". The rubric treats threats, intimidation and sectarian abuse as genuine issues rather than symbolic ones, and the speaker blames "the scumbags who are responsible", not a whole community, while stressing that the town is a "proud mixed community". The swipes at the media and other parties, and the borrowed line "We aren't going away, you know", add a partisan edge, but they do not make the main function identity-based point-scoring.
Public interest or divisiveness
The statement mainly represents constituents facing what it describes as a sustained campaign of intimidation, including an explicit incitement to violence, and it records that the poster was removed and reported to the police. Claiming that no one but "this party" has spoken up, and challenging "the parties that claim to call out sectarianism", is partisan and could feed a communal argument. Even so, the core purpose is to oppose sectarian intimidation rather than to deepen division.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.96 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.08 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.87 | Yes |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.20 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.21 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.14 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.47 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.01 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.61 |
| Adopts it | 0.38 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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