Man fined for pro-IRA slogan aimed at DUP's Edwin Poots
- Published
The DUP's Edwin Poots said he was boarding a flight when a man said "Up the Ra" to him
A man has been fined by a court in Scotland after shouting a pro-IRA slogan at a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member.
Edwin Poots said he was boarding a flight from Glasgow to Belfast in 2022 when a man said "Up the Ra" to him.
Prosecutors in Scotland said a man has since pleaded guilty to threatening or abusive behaviour.
Mark Gallogly, 35, of Glen Road near Omagh, County Tyrone, was fined £850 earlier this month.
Mr Poots welcomed the outcome, describing the behaviour as "totally unacceptable".
The Stormont assembly member said people's lives were "torn apart" as a consequence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and "there is a pain that is carried by many people".
Speaking to the BBC's Nolan Show, he said using slogans in support of paramilitary organisations was "inflicting pain" on those impacted by the decades-long violent conflict.
"We were boarding a flight from Glasgow to Belfast, and as I was going to my seat, the individual named said 'up the Ra' as I was passing," he told the programme.
"And this was witnessed by five or six passengers."
He said he arranged for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to be contacted before the flight took off, and a man was arrested when it arrived in Belfast.
Mr Poots urged police and prosecutors in Northern Ireland to do more to "ensure this type of behaviour is stamped out".
"A small number of convictions will actually eradicate this quite quickly because people won't want to get fined for it," he said.
In a response to the Nolan Show, Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service confirmed Mr Gallogly was fined £850 at Paisley Sheriff Court on 17 January after pleading guilty to an offence under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.