Barry McElduff defends conduct over social distancing

Former Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff has defended his conduct after a newspaper carried pictures of him breaching social distancing rules.

It happened as he was making a video earlier this month criticising a business for its approach to Covid-19.

Mr McElduff, who now sits on Fermanagh and Omagh Council, was filming outside Omagh Meats with a colleague.

He said he and Anne Marie Fitzgerald followed social distancing. They handed in a letter to the firm's management.

Photos obtained by the Sunday Life newspaper show Mr McElduff standing close to Ms Fitzgerald and another woman helping him put on a face mask.

In a statement, Mr McElduff said he had received assistance "for a few seconds" after his face mask had become detached.

"I am very conscious of, and strive at all times, to honour social distancing," the statement added.

"Crucially, this should not become a distraction from the very serious concerns about the safety of workers in order to save lives and prevent the further spread of this pandemic."

Mr McElduff resigned as MP for West Tyrone in 2018, after a social media controversy where he had posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Mr McElduff did not face prosecution over the incident.

Last May, he re-entered politics after he was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.