Pat Doherty to meet British Secretary of State in Westminster

Sinn Féin West Tyrone MP, Pat Doherty is in London today for a series of meetings with MP’s including British Secretary of State (SoS) Theresa Villiers.

Speaking before leaving for London this morning Pat Doherty said:

“I will be holding a series of meetings with individual MP’s including British SoS, Theresa Villiers and her Labour Shadow SoS Vernon Coaker, in Westminster today as part of  Sinn Féin’s intensive lobbying exercise to influence political opinion on a number of issues crucial to the interests of the Northern electorate."

“I will take the opportunity in meetings with Theresa Villiers, Vernon Coaker and Laurence Robertson MP, NI Affairs Committee Chairperson, to impress on them the hardship that the so-called Welfare Reform Bill in its present form will inflict on the most vulnerable in our society and the damage it will do to the local economy. If Ms Villiers as is claimed is the voice of the North at Cabinet then she needs to take her lead from the Executive and not simply parrot the one size fits all attitude to the economy of her government colleagues. I will focus on the Sinn Féin proposed amendments and our determination to see them addressed."

“In my meetings with Theresa Villiers and Vernon Coaker in particular, I will also be reiterating the Sinn Féin demand for the immediate release of Marian Price and Martin Corey. It is totally unacceptable and an affront to natural Justice that a British SoS can defy the decisions of the Courts and imprison anyone without producing compelling evidence against them."

“Other MP’s that I will be meeting with in an attempt to influence their thinking on the Welfare Reform Bill are NI Affairs Committee members, Nigel Mills MP (Con), Oliver Colville MP (Con) and Dave Anderson MP (Lab)"