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Further to media speculation that DUP MP David Simpson is considering using Parliamentary privilege in October to name a Sinn Fein politician who he claims was a mole for the Security Forces, UUP Alderman Arnold Hatch said the decision raised more questions than it answered.

In a statement Mr Hatch said,

“Why is Mr Simpson raising the issue in August – the silly season in the media – when he is only considering doing something in October?

Could it be that he is expecting Gordon Brown to call an election in October and this question would curry some favour with his disillusioned electorate?

His electorate trusted his word when he signed the famous letter with eleven other DUP politicians urging the Rev. Ian Paisley not to do a deal with Sinn Fein/IRA.

I fully understand the need to find the killers of Mr Eric Lutton and I hope that the Historical Enquiries Team will be able to bring forward the perpetrators through the courts but what is to be gained by Mr Simpson’s anticipated antics?

As far as I am concerned the more Feiners acting as moles for the Security Forces the better! Or is there another motive?

Is Mr Simpson, who is not a Minister in the power sharing Executive trying to de-stabilise the fledgling Assembly and there-by try to justify his dramatic u-turn by supporting Sinn Fein in Government? Something he said he would not do before the election just over 100 days ago!”

Efforts to deliver better public services will continue to be hampered so long as there is ambiguity over the future configuration of local councils here, according to Ulster Unionist councillor Ald Arnold Hatch.

Mr Hatch, the Ulster Unionist spokesperson on NILGA’s RPA Group, said that vital issues – such how to address anti-social behaviour – are being tied up in bureaucracy.

In a statement, Mr Hatch said: “Regarding RPA proposals, Direct Rule Ministers failed to adopt the consensus view. Ministers ignored the views of four of the five main political parties. The result has been uncertainty and division.

“Now that the Northern Ireland Assembly will be up and running in May it is imperative that RPA issues are resolved as soon as possible so that the groupings of councils can begin to seriously collaborate and modernise.”

He added: “Inefficiencies are frustrating the everyday work of councillors. Antisocial behaviour is a major issue, for example, but too many agencies – like the Community Safety Partnership, the District Policing Partnership, the Education and Library Board’s Youth Service, the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, community groups and social services – are involved.

“What we have is a system that creates logjams. We need a streamlined system that delivers results. Our citizens deserve more than this, and the sooner there is clarity and direction the better.”

Ulster Unionist Councillor Alderman Arnold Hatch has today said that the “massive u-turn” by the DUP leadership to enter into power-sharing with Sinn Fein would leave their two MLAs in Upper Bann – David Simpson and Stephen Moutray – “bewildered and confused”.

In a statement, Mr Hatch said: “Messrs Simpson and Moutray were two of the 12 DUP elected representatives who signed that famous letter against the direction the DUP was taking. Have they turned full circle again?

“The DUP has finally played catch-up with the Ulster Unionist Party and accepted the framework and institutions that we negotiated in 1998.

“The images of Dr Paisley sitting at the same table with Gerry Adams were momentous and historic. However, it should be remembered that the DUP heaped physical and verbal abuse on Daphne and David Trimble, and the UUP, for sharing power with moderate nationalism.

“We had Seamus Mallon as our Deputy First Minister, not a former commander of the IRA. How times have changed.

“The DUP has been to the electorate with various messages over the years – from ‘Smash Sinn Fein’, to ‘government with Sinn Fein’. What happened to the requirement to see a photograph of IRA weapons being decommissioned? Is the testing period now only six weeks?

“The need for the dissolution of the IRA Army Council has gone. Have all the pledges and tests been abandoned?

“Jim Allister, their very capable MEP, has left their Party and several councillors will also follow suit due to this remarkable about-face. Will Simpson and Moutray now take the salaries and abandon so-called principles?”

UUP Candidate for Upper Bann, Alderman Arnold Hatch has claimed Northern Ireland people have been “let down and short-changed” by the NIO Direct Rulers plan to introduce Water Charges in the Province.

In a statement, Alderman Hatch said: “Northern Ireland consumers have been badly let-down by the ill-thought out policies of Peter Hain and the NIO. These water charge proposals - put forward by unaccountable Direct Rule ministers - unfairly penalise hard-working homeowners.

“Direct Rulers have shamefully underfunded Northern Ireland’s infrastructure for decades. Now instead of rectifying these mistakes, they seem determined to place the financial burden on the shoulders of ordinary hard-working people here. Hard-working families are the economic backbone of this province, and it is completely unfair to add to their financial burden.

“Only a devolved Stormont government of our own can halt these punitive water charges. A UUP-led Executive will put a firm stop to the government’s water charge plan.

“On March 7th people across Northern Ireland must stand up and deliver a loud ‘No’ to the government’s water charge proposals. By voting Ulster Unionist, voters can ensure that their message gets across loud and clear - we have had enough of being let down and short-changed by unaccountable Direct Rulers.

“It is time for the people of Northern Ireland to stand up to Peter Hain and his Ministers and elect a UUP-led Government of our own which will truly stand up for the needs of hard-working families.”

Ulster Unionist candidate for Upper Bann for the forthcoming Assembly elections, Alderman Arnold Hatch, has vowed to fight the threatened closures of schools in his constituency.

In a statement, Mr Hatch said: “Schools listed include Lurgan College and Birches Primary School, Bleary Primary School and the historic village school in Scarva.

“I believe a lot more work needs to be done to challenge assertions in the Bain Report which is more about saving money than saving schools.

“The Department of Education’s Inspectorate have never utilised a small school in terms of its educational standards. In many ways village and rural children attain higher standards by the time they reach P7 than their counterparts in large urban schools.

“So let us put children and parents first and research what is best for sustainable schools not only in Upper Bann but also in Northern Ireland taking into account the quality of life for rural dwellers.”

Ulster Unionist candidate for Upper Bann for the forthcoming Assembly elections, Alderman Arnold Hatch, has vowed to fight the threatened closures of schools in his constituency.In a statement, Mr Hatch said: “Schools listed include Lurgan College and Birches Primary School, Bleary Primary School and the historic village school in Scarva.

“I believe a lot more work needs to be done to challenge assertions in the Bain Report which is more about saving money than saving schools.

“The Department of Education’s Inspectorate have never utilised a small school in terms of its educational standards. In many ways village and rural children attain higher standards by the time they reach P7 than their counterparts in large urban schools.

“So let us put children and parents first and research what is best for sustainable schools not only in Upper Bann but also in Northern Ireland taking into account the quality of life for rural dwellers.”

The recent report by the oversight commissioner stating that the slashing of the number of Policing Districts from 29 to 8 under the review of public administration would cause problems of service delivery as envisaged by Patten, vindicates the stance taken by all the political parties except Sinn Fein, Alderman Arnold Hatch Ulster Unionist Vice-President of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association said today.

In a statement Mr Hatch said,

“The 7 council model would mean large remote and weak local government where local communities would be further isolated from the decision making bodies.

It is time the Policing Board questioned the ‘lap dog’ approach of the Chief Constable who has not, I believe, realised the implications of only 8 District Command Units to cover Northern Ireland.

It will be difficult to keep close to local communities without creating another tier of bureaucracy within policing.

I can see quite clearly why the at least the Sinn Fein Leadership has opted for the 7 council model because it will make it more difficult for the PSNI to keep law and order.”