NI21 leader Basil McCrea, pictured, has threatened to sue the party's former press officer over a series of posts on social media. The fall-out between the Lagan Valley MLA and political
consultant Jonathan Rainey is the latest controversy to beset the fledgling party. Last week The Irish News revealed how an administrative mix-up meant the NI21 name would be absent from both European and some local government ballot papers.
Last month Mr Rainey, a former Fine Gael councillor in Dublin, made a number of tweets aimed at NI21.
Co Cavan-based Mr Rainey (39) worked, in a voluntary capacity, with NI21 from May to July last year and was involved in the party's launch at the MAC in Belfast.
The posts prompted a solicitor acting for NI21 leader Mr McCrea to last week send a letter to Mr Rainey ordering him to remove references to the party and the Lagan Valley MLA from Twitter.
The former NI21 press officer concedes that he "goaded" Mr McCrea about typing errors in some party literature but says other tweets were not about the party. He has declined to remove the posts. "If I wanted to antagonise I could have but I didn't," Mr Rainey said.
"If [Mr McCrea] can produce any linkage then that's up to him." The NI21 leader told The Irish News that he has now accepted Mr Rainey's explanation. "I'm glad he's clarified the matter and that's that as far as I'm concerned," Mr McCrea said.