Doug Beattie 'deeply ashamed' by past tweets

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has said he is "deeply ashamed and embarrassed" by a number of historical tweets he published.

Earlier Mr Beattie apologised for tweeting a joke about the former DUP leader Edwin Poots and his wife.

Mr Beattie then issued a personal statement on Twitter.

"Since I made my unreserved apology in relation to a tweet at the weekend I have been made aware of a number of historic tweets which I published.

"I am deeply ashamed and embarrassed by the content of these tweets. They are totally unacceptable. They do not reflect the opinions or values I hold today," he tweeted.

The Upper Bann MLA said since the time he entered politics he had made a serious effort to increase the representation of women and advocate policies which would improve the lives and well-being of all women and girls.

"That is where I stand and I deeply regret the fact that these historic tweets could serve to undermine that position," he said.

He said misogyny was something which must be taken very seriously and admitted he had fallen short in the past.

He did not provide any details of what he said in the past tweets.

Doug Beattie's rise through the political ranks has been meteoric. Now his fall threatens to be equally rapid.

Twitter is awash with historical tweets containing many derogatory references to women.

One has emerged in which he accused Muslims of playing the victim.

There's even one in which he uses the N-word.

The fact that most date from a decade or more ago is largely irrelevant.

Then he was still a soldier.

Tonight he's facing another battle - for his political career.

Earlier, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said his wife was disgusted by a joke posted about her by Mr Beattie.

The joke was posted on Saturday night and by Sunday morning Mr Beattie had deleted it.

In his apology, he told Mr and Mrs Poots that he was "sorry for the hurt I may have caused".

Mr Poots said the joke had demeaned women and specifically had demeaned his wife.

The Lagan Valley assembly member, who briefly served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) last year, told the BBC's The Nolan Show that the UUP leader's judgement in posting the joke was "poor".

"I just don't know what he was thinking," he said.

Edwin Poots says he accepted Doug Beattie's apology but believes the UUP leader's judgement was "poor"

"I'm a big boy, I can take a lot of abuse in politics and that's fine but [he] shouldn't be drawing other members of people's families into anything."

"Saturday night was the first time we had been together as a family for four years because we have two children who are doing voluntary work abroad - it coincided that they happened to be home."

'I married a gem'

The DUP politician said it was the "type of joke you'd have heard people telling on TV on a Friday or Saturday night in the 1970s or '80s".

"There may be a global anger that [the joke] demeans women in general, and it does, but it demeans one woman in particular and that one woman happens to be my wife and my children's mother," he said.

"She happens to be married to a politician - I wasn't a politician when she married me, but she's given me her full support.

"She's honourable, kind, decent… I married a gem."

Doug Beattie deleted and later apologised for the post on Twitter

Speaking on the Nolan Show, Mr Beattie said he was "genuinely sorry" and he had written to Mr Poots to apologise.

He later repeated the apology in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday afternoon.

"I posted a joke and regardless of what my intentions were it wasn't just inappropriate," he said.

"It was absolutely wrong and fundamentally wrong and therefore it's important I stand here and I say to Mr and Mrs Poots that I am sorry for the hurt I may have caused.

"I have to say to wider society, that my language was wrong on every level.

"We have to have our guard against this and I did not show the leadership I should have shown."

'1970s comic'

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said social media companies had a "moral and corporate responsibility" to ensure those engaged in misogyny, sexism, online abuse and threats are blocked from their services.

"For those in political leadership that engage in that everyday sexism and think it's a joke that's just disgusting in itself," she said.

"That's not political leadership, political leadership is calling out things whenever it's wrong and in this case misogyny online is a huge problem."

Ms O'Neill added: "For a political leader to be engaged in online what he deems to be jokes, I do not deem to be jokes, I think is just incredulous".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said there was "no place for misogyny in our society".

"We need to take a zero tolerance approach," he said.

"We have a huge responsibility to call out misogyny in other men - Doug Beattie has totally failed the leadership test on this issue."

Alliance Party leader and Justice Minister Naomi Long said she was "genuinely shocked at just how casually misogynistic" the tweet was.

"It would have made many a 1970s comic blush," she said.