UNIONISTS have reacted with anger after a vote at Derry City Council blocked members from attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
A motion rejected an invitation from Buckingham Palace for council officials to attend the party to recognise local people named on Queen Elizabeth’s new-year’s honours list.
The original Sinn Féin motion suggested that those who wanted to attend could pay for it themselves and that they would not be officially representing the majority nationalist council.
An SDLP amendment proposed accepting the invitation and if the chair or deputy chair of the council could not attend the invitation should be passed on to a committee chair.
It is has been reported that the vote was tied at 15 each meaning Sinn Féin mayor Maolíosa McHugh had the casting vote which he used to defeat the motion.
Derry and Strabane councillor Gary Donnelly took part in Monday’s vote hours after leaving Garda custody in Co Donegal where he had been questioned in connection with the dissident republican murder of Denis Donaldson. Mr Donnelly was released unconditionally.
Mr Donnelly last night said his vote was “crucial”.
“As far as I am concerned I’m back to work and it was an important vote because it saved ratepayers’ money,” he said.
However, DUP councillor David Ramsey reacted angrily to the council decision, saying the casting vote was "shameful."
"It's going against the grain of good relations, something that has been worked hard on for a long number of years in Londonderry. This new mayor has decided that he has other ideas. We made it clear that it was shameful what the mayor did."
“It’s very, very disappointing because of the good work that has been going on this past 20 years in the city and it’s taken us back,” he said.
However, Sinn Féin councillor Eric McGinley defended Mr McHugh.
"This isn't an issue about the mayor, the mayor was using his democratic right to use that casting vote," he told the BBC.
"Just to explain, there was an invitation extended to council from the Department of Communities to attend a garden party in Buckingham Palace.
"We were more than willing to accommodate anyone going to Buckingham Palace but the key thing was that it shouldn't be at a cost to the ratepayers.
"To turn this into a witch hunt against the mayor is inappropriate but it seems to be a course of action the DUP are intent on."
A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said “that it was agreed at a meeting (on Monday) that council would not forward a nomination to the department for Communities (DfC) for a council representative to be considered for attendance at the garden party”.
