DUP's Paula Bradley apologises for party's past LGBT remarks

Paula Bradley was elected as deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in May

The DUP's deputy leader Paula Bradley has apologised for remarks made by some of her party colleagues in the past about the LGBT community.

Ms Bradley admitted that some of the things said by the DUP over the past 50 years had been "absolutely atrocious".

She added their remarks "fed into the hatred" endured by LGBT people.

She was taking part in an online event hosted by Pink News, during which she was asked if the DUP should apologise for comments over its history.

Ms Bradley, who represents North Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly, was elected deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in May.

She has previously been described as the DUP's most liberal assembly member.

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On Thursday, Ms Bradley was among representatives of six of the largest parties in Northern Ireland who took part in an online discussion about LGBT rights, chaired by John O'Doherty from the Rainbow Project.

'Learned their lessons'

He asked Ms Bradley if there would ever be a time "when the DUP would, or if they should, apologise for the hurt and harm caused to LGBTQI Plus people in the last 50 years".

"I am not going to defend some of the things that have been said over the years because they've been absolutely atrocious, they've been shocking," she replied.

"I certainly couldn't stand by many of those comments - in fact all of those comments - because I know the hurt that they cause people and I know that fed into the hatred that some people have had to endure in their life and I think that's absolutely wrong.

"I think the vast majority of those people who made those comments are no longer there and the ones that are there have said that they have learned their lessons - that their language at times has not been right."

Ms Bradley said it was an issue she had raised "on numerous occasions" within the DUP, adding that language used by elected representatives had an impact in wider society.

Responding to the question on whether the DUP should apologise, she said: "I can certainly say I apologise for what others have said and done in the past, because I do think there have been some very hurtful comments and some language that really should not have been used."