DUP MLA Jonathan Bell is “courteous, kind and respectful” as well as being far from the “monster” portrayed in Thursday’s explosive interview with First Minister Arlene Foster, it has been claimed by two representatives at opposite end of the political spectrum.
Former DUP councillor Ruth Patterson spoke up in defence of her old party colleague as others loyal to Arlene Foster rallied to the first minister’s side during the opening of a DUP constituency office in south Belfast yesterday.
In previous years, such an event would have been attended by Ms Patterson, as it took place in the loyalist heartland of her own constituency.
However, a row over the DUP refusing to put forward Ms Patterson as an Assembly candidate saw her quit the party and run, unsuccessfully, for Stormont as an independent unionist earlier this year.
Prior to her departure from the party, Cllr Patterson was flanked by Mr Bell when she attended court hearings in 2013.
The outspoken councillor had been charged with sending a grossly offensive electronic communication after posting a Facebook comment about a planned republican march through the Co Tyrone town of Castlederg, in which she responded to another user’s post outlining an imaginary attack on those taking part.
Speaking to the Irish News about her dealings with Mr Bell, who had criticised her arrest as “sensational”, Cllr Patterson said: “I always found Jonathan to be very courteous, kind and respectful. He never came across to me as being aggressive.
“Arlene Foster would need more evidence to prove these claims.”
She added that Ms Foster should “step aside” while the RHI scandal is investigated.
“She needs to do what Peter Robinson did,” she said, referring to Ms Foster’s first stint as acting First Minister in 2010 when Mr Robinson temporarily stood down over a financial scandal involving his wife Iris.
Meanwhile, a former Sinn Féin councillor has also defended Mr Bell from Ms Foster’s description of him as “aggressive”.
Brendan Curran, a former Newry councillor who left Sinn Féin in 2013, said Mr Bell was “cordial” with him, despite the history between the DUP and his party.
“He was never aggressive and in fact was a wry, witty man,” Mr Curran said.
“The person Arlene Foster seethingly described on TV is not the person I recall from my experience with him.”
Mr Curran, who said his work with the NI Housing Council led him to cross paths with the DUP MLA – himself a former councillor in both Craigavon and Ards – added: “If this man was the monster she made him out to be, what did she do about it?
“If he was renowned for being abusive or aggressive to women, then why was nothing done about it? It’s very, very easy to take away someone’s character.”
