POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland are investigating the circumstances surrounding the raising of an Irish tricolour over Stormont.
A spokesperson for the Assembly said it was taken down as soon as it was noticed on the building.
Construction work is currently taking place on the roof and upper floors of the parliament building, BBC News reports.
Democratic Unionist Party MLA Peter Weir said he had been assured that the raising of the flag was a “rogue action” and will be fully investigated.
“Whatever the motivation behind this there must be a full explanation from the Assembly as to who had access to the flag poles and who was responsible for this action,” he said in a statement, calling for sanctions if the action was carried out by an outside contractor.
‘Hysterical reaction’
However, Sinn Féin has taken a different view on the issue, calling the reaction of unionist politicians ‘hysterical’.
Gerry Kelly MLA said it was, “for some unionist politicians, a bigger crisis than anything that has happened over the past weeks”.
He questioned why there had not been calls for British flags to be removed from other sensitive areas, and added:
Stormont has only just finished a consultation into flags and emblems in the grounds of Stormont and parliament buildings and one thing will be very clear; there is nothing about the place that celebrates or respects the nationalist tradition in this part of the island.
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “We are aware of the flag and are investigating the circumstances.”
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