NI election 2022: 41 poster incidents reported to police

Elsie Trainor is one of two SDLP candidates for Belfast South

Forty-one incidents relating to election posters being damaged, removed or destroyed have been reported in the past month, police have said.

Candidates from many parties have experienced issues with election campaign material.

Police said they were investigating all the incidents thoroughly.

Officers are also treating an attack on SDLP Belfast South candidate Elsie Trainor on Monday as a hate crime.

SIGN UP FOR ALERTS: Get extra updates on BBC Northern Ireland election coverage

Ms Trainor, who is one of two SDLP candidates in Belfast South, told the Belfast Telegraph she followed two youths after she saw them removing her election posters.

Ms Trainor said while she followed them, one of the youths assaulted her and the other tried to grab her mobile phone as she filmed them.

It is the latest in a series of incidents targeting election campaigns.

On Monday, Sinn Féin Upper Bann candidate John O'Dowd said a "gang of masked men" had taken down his party's posters in Portadown, County Armagh while the party said posters had also been stolen or damaged in , Foyle, Newry and Armagh, South Belfast, North Belfast and other areas.

There have also been reports of Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Alliance Party and Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) posters being torn down or defaced.

'Polarisation wrecking our present and future'

Ms Trainor tweeted that she had chased the men through Ormeau Park on Monday evening as she wanted police to know which exit to lift them from.

"They assaulted me and after that tried to rob my phone," she said.

"We need common ground politics here. We need to not fail these thugs as much as anyone else.

"Polarisation is wrecking our present and future".

She told the Belfast Telegraph she was pushed against a fence and subjected to sectarian abuse.

• POSTCODE SEARCH: Full list of election candidates

Ch Supt Nigel Goddard described one of the suspects as about 18, 5ft 8in and dressed in a light grey jacket.

He said the other was about the same age, 5ft 10in and wearing a dark grey jacket with its hood up, black-framed glasses and a face mask.

He called for anyone with information, dashcam or mobile phone footage to contact the police.

The 41 incidents of damage reported to police were during the period 22 March to 11 April.

Ch Supt Godard added that police wanted anyone who saw posters being stolen or damaged to contact them immediately and added that officers had offered safety training to candidates.

"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to doing everything we can to ensure all candidates can participate fully in the forthcoming Northern Ireland Assembly election free from harassment, intimidation and other forms of criminality," he said.

"We are investigating thoroughly the incidents which have been reported to us, including the removal and destruction of election posters, and any identified suspects will be liable to prosecution.

'Utterly deplorable'

Ms Trainor's party leader Colum Eastwood said he was worried by the "tone" of the election campaign.

"All political leaders need to think about whether they are showing leadership or adding to the problem," he said.

UUP leader Doug Beattie called the incident "absolutely awful".

"These posters are just not worth the (aggression) each election," he tweeted. "There must be a better way."

On Friday a poster of Mr Beattie with a noose around his neck was left in Lurgan, County Armagh, ahead of a rally opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The incident was widely condemned.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he "utterly deplored" what happened to Ms Trainor.

"I think this was absolutely pathetic that anyone would do this to a young person who is prepared to step up very courageously and put themselves before the electorate," he said.

Sir Jeffrey added that the DUP had also had posters removed and that some of its candidates had faced abuse online and on the streets.

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill said all parties were entitled to contest elections as part of the democratic process.

"I think that those that are whipping up tensions and fears, those that are orchestrating young people, or whoever it is that are responsible for taking down posters, it needs to stop, it needs to be called out, because it is wrong," she said.

"None of us who put ourselves forward into public life will be be deterred by those that are involved in criminal behaviour, ripping down posters, stealing posters or threatening behaviour towards candidates, that's just not acceptable."

Alliance Party North Down candidate Andrew Muir told BBC News NI that politics was becoming increasingly polarised.

"What I've seen in recent days and weeks in relation to the theft, defacement and other criminal acts around posters is really concerning," he said.

"We need to have a politics where people can stand for election without fear of intimidation, and particularly for women coming forward in politics, we need to have a place which is welcoming and doesn't have that air of intimidation around it."

Green Party deputy leader and Belfast North assembly candidate Mal O'Hara tweeted his support for Ms Trainor.

"There have been too many nasty incidents in this election. We really need to redouble our efforts to build and nurture our peace here," he said.

TUV Lagan Valley candidate Loran Smyth has also complained to the police about her posters being removed.

She said: "What I do not accept is that some people would seek to interfere with the democratic process".

A full list of candidates for all constituencies is available here.

• POSTCODE SEARCH: Who is standing in my area?

• WHAT'S HAPPENING WHERE: Really simple guide

• NOTIFICATIONS: Sign up for Northern Ireland election alerts