Man who called us Irish b******s

[earl]

Jonathan McCambridge recalls the moment he first spoke to Neville Sanders and heard the controversial opinions which outraged people across Northern Ireland

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Before June 12 2003, it would have been hard to find a single person in Northern Ireland who had heard of an obscure English Tory politician named Neville Sanders. After that date you would have been hard-pressed to find anybody who did not know of him.

I first spoke to Sanders after a letter from Carrickfergus Borough Council was leaked to me.

The letter had been sent to Peterborough Council, of which Sanders was the leader, asking for support for calls for an investigation into unexplained army deaths, including the suicide of teenage RIR soldier Paul Cochrane.

On the same letter Sanders has scrawled the response: "Members of the armed forces do get killed, be it by accident or design, THAT is what they are paid for."

I phoned the councillor asking for an explanation for his insensitive comments. Instead I was met with a tirade of abuse. Some of Sanders' more insulting comments included: "Soldiers should be prepared to deal with a bullet" and "I am fed up paying taxes to cover for lazy Irish b******s." He added: "The Irish should learn to live in peace and get on with it ... if you have a dispute do not involve us ... if someone commits suicide that is their right, it is nothing to do with me."

When the Belfast Telegraph published the Sanders' story it made headlines across the UK. The Conservative councillor was given several opportunities to withdraw his remarks but refused to do so.

Speaking on live TV he demanded an apology from the parents of Paul Cochrane for wasting his time.

Peterborough Council and the Conservative Party both moved quickly to distance themselves from Sanders. The then-Tory Northern Ireland spokesman Quentin Davies visited the parents of Paul Cochrane in their east Belfast home to apologise in person.

Sanders' political career seemed to be in tatters after his own Conservative grouping on Peterborough council turned their backs on him and he lost a vote of no confidence which meant he surrendered his position as leader of the council. I travelled to Peterborough for that council meeting. I had a letter from Billy Cochrane, Paul's father, which I intended to present to Sanders. Unfortunately, he did not turn up for the meeting. It was then that I realised that the Sanders' row was causing even more headlines in England than back home.

Worse was to follow for Sanders. He was kicked out of the Conservative Party and was also investigated by the Standards Board for England, the local Government watchdog. This led to him being disqualified from being a member of Peterborough City Council for two years. A High Court judge later lifted the punishment but described Sanders' comments as "little more than an ill-tempered rant".

However, Sanders' proved to be a resilient political force. He was re-elected to Peterborough Council as an independent - proving that the Northern Ireland controversy had not damaged his popularity. Then in 2006 it was announced that he was to run once again as a Conservative candidate - less than two years after he had been expelled from the party.

However, on this occasion he lost his seat and his political career was finally spent. However, he has returned to the headlines again today after it emerged that he looks set to be awarded the freedom of Peterborough. For many who remember the original controversy in 2003, this will be adding insult to injury.

[earl]

Foul-mouthed Tory sorry for abusive slur against Ulster



Controversial English politician Neville Sanders has for the first time admitted he was insensitive when he launched a foul-mouthed tirade against the people of Northern Ireland.

Sanders (76), who sparked outrage in 2003 when he said he was fed up paying taxes for "lazy Irish b******s", also offered to apologise in person to anybody prepared to meet him in a church.

Sanders hit the headlines in 2003 when he rubbished a call from Carrickfergus Borough Council for an independent investigation into the death of teenage Ulster soldier Paul Cochrane. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph at the time he said soldiers "should be prepared to deal with a bullet" and made his infamous comments about taxes.

The comments ruined Sanders' political career, costing him his position as leader of Peterborough City Council and also led to his being thrown out of the Conservative Party.

This week he was back in the headlines again after it emerged that he is set to receive a prestigious civic honour, the freedom of the city of Peterborough.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph for the first time at length since the 2003 row, Sanders admitted that he made mistakes.

"I could have handled it more sensitively. At the time my wife was seriously ill and I was doing two jobs, maybe I could have handled it differently. I was under domestic pressure and it led to an outburst.

"It may be that my robust approach comes across as insensitive to some people."

However, the former councillor also said that he had received many letters of support following his 2003 outburst, including a number from Northern Ireland.

When asked about his comment about paying taxes for the "lazy Irish" he said: "I do not think the Irish are lazy but the statistics do show that taxes are being paid to cover for the Irish and even Scotland. What I probably should have said is that I am fed up paying taxes for lazy people who do not want to go to work.

"It was not intended as an offensive remark."

When asked if he wanted to make an apology to anybody in Northern Ireland Sanders added: "I am quite happy to come to any cathedral or church and apologise to anyone who was offended; provided those who have attacked me are also prepared to stand before God and apologise for their sins."

Sanders said he still felt annoyed about being "dragged in" to Northern Ireland affairs.

"I have always said it had nothing to do with me or Peterborough and I could not believe why we were being brought into it. I thought it was cheap.

"I am only a little humble local politician and no matter what I had said, it would not have made any difference."

After being asked what he had learnt from the row, Sanders said: "At the time we did not have a press department in Peterborough council. The Belfast Telegraph phoned me up and I spoke to them because I am a straightforward man.

"Now we have six press officers, being paid at taxpayers' expense, and all queries are referred to them."

[Jim]

lol, tories.

[Wasp]

Tosser but I wouldn't read to much into it. How often in the spur of the moment do we say English bastards or something like it without actually meaning all English people?

[Blue Angel]

my own opinion is he was only giving actual voice to what a hell of a lot of the tory mps would say privately. Peterborough is packed with snobby bastards anyway - it passed a lot forbidding homeless people to be on the streets some years back - how that actually works in practise i don't know.

[Jim]

Thats why Tories don't get votes in Irish communities in England. Or very rarely do.