Stewart Dickson MLA said: “Alex Maskey was completely wrong to say that he would be throwing stones if he lived in the Short Strand. In saying these words he is providing legitimacy to those who have been carrying out the violence we have seen in recent weeks.
“All sides need to tone down the language that they use in order to reduce the tension. We have all seen that there has been violence coming from both sides. So the last thing the police need is for a politician providing some sort of justification to this trouble.
“This is not the language that an elected representative should use. The Alliance Party will be bringing up his comments with the Speaker. What he should have said is that if he lived in Short Strand he would have done everything he could to stop people throwing stones.”
ENDS