Doug Beattie to stay on as UUP leader with support of his MLAs

Q Radio News/PA

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie says he has the "unaminous" support of his MLAs amid a legal battle over a Tweet referencing his political rival's wife.

Mr Beattie has been under fire since tweeting a joke that referenced DUP minister Edwin Poots and his wife on Saturday.

He said: “I have had detailed conversations with all of my MLAs, I apologised for what I had done directly to each one of them and then I spoke (about) whether or not I still had their support to remain as party leader – overwhelmingly every one of them said ‘yes, I did’.

“So I have support from my MLAs.

“But I also spoke with party officers and the party chairman about party officers who also had a discussion around the issue and I have support also from party officers.”

Mr Beattie said the support was “unanimous”.

He said conversations would continue with other UUP members over the historical tweets.

His reprieve comes shortly after it emerged that DUP minister Edwin Poots and his wife Glynis have issued defamation proceedings against embattled UUP leader Doug Beattie after he tweeted a joke about her that referenced a brothel.

Proceedings have also been initiated against Conservative MP and chair of Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Simon Hoare, who retweeted Mr Beattie’s joke.

Patrick Higgins, from Donnelly and Wall solicitors in Belfast, told the PA news agency that letters had been sent to both men seeking remedies for their actions.

“Today we instigated proceedings on behalf of Mrs and Mr Poots against Mr Beattie MLA and Mr Hoare MP, who published this tweet,” he said.

“This post constitutes a grave and unwarranted attack on my clients’ reputation.

“As a couple of 36 years, married for 33, it has caused my clients profound distress.

“As a lady who has recently retired after dedicating her life as a nurse to caring for terminally ill children, it is wholly inappropriate for any persons to make such comments and the publication has caused immense hurt to her, her husband and their family.”

The Ulster Unionist Party leader said he was “on the cusp” of quitting amid controversy over historical tweets.

Doug Beattie said he offered to resign on Monday but close colleagues in the party urged him to take the time to consider his future.

Mr Beattie has faced accusations of misogyny and racism over the content of tweets posted before he entered political life.

He said he would now be asking various decision-making groups in the UUP whether he should resign.

The Upper Bann MLA conceded that the posts, the majority of which were written around a decade ago, were “horrendous and horrific”.

Asked how close he came to resigning, Mr Beattie said: “On the cusp. I have a few very close friends who rang me – because I had withdrawn – and gave me advice.

“I offered my resignation and people said, ‘Let’s engage and see where we go’.”

Mr Beattie told BBC Radio Ulster: “I will speak to my MLA group today and I will speak to my party officers through my chairman, Danny Kennedy, and if either group feels I should step down then I will.

“Likewise, if they think I should refer myself to the party executive or the wider council on a vote of no confidence then I shall do that as well, and the party will decide whether or not they can follow my leadership.”

Mr Beattie denied being racist or misogynistic.

He said he is “extremely embarrassed and extremely ashamed” about the tweets.

The ex-soldier suggested the “dark and black humour” he used may have been a “coping” mechanism and reflective of him being “desensitised” by battlefield experiences.

“My mental health has been affected by what I have seen and what I have done,” he said.

“I don’t want anybody to think I’m giving an excuse because I am simply not. It was wrong and I am deeply sorry.”

Mr Beattie said he is asking his party for a second chance.

“Whether or not my party feels that I am the leader who can lead them into the election and beyond will be their decision and I will abide by that decision,” he said.

“If the party want me to stay, I will still be the leader next week. If they don’t want me to stay, I will not be the party leader next week.”

He added: “I am asking people to look at the person I am now and not judge me on the person I was 10 years ago.”

The furore erupted on Saturday evening when Mr Beattie tweeted a joke that referred to the wife of political rival Edwin Poots and a brothel.

Mr Poots, DUP Stormont minister, said his wife was “disgusted” by the post, which Mr Beattie deleted and apologised for.

He reiterated that apology on the floor on the Assembly on Monday, insisting he was “truly sorry”.

The controversy escalated after focus turned to Mr Beattie’s historical conduct on Twitter, with a series of derogatory remarks about women, Muslims, members of the Travelling community, and people with mental health issues unearthed.

The dramatic turn in fortunes for Mr Beattie came just hours after a newspaper opinion poll indicated he is the most popular political leader in Northern Ireland.

Mr Beattie said his confidence has been rocked by the controversy and he has isolated himself from friends and loved ones.

“I have to pick myself up and come out of the shadows and face this head on,” he said.

Doug Beattie said he had been made aware of “totally unacceptable” tweets he had posted in the past