Northern Ireland

Dee Stitt remains as CEO of Charter NI as it 'deals with the matter internally'

UDA commander Dee Stitt has come under increasing pressure to resign his post as CEO of Charter NI
UDA commander Dee Stitt has come under increasing pressure to resign his post as CEO of Charter NI UDA commander Dee Stitt has come under increasing pressure to resign his post as CEO of Charter NI

CHARTER NI is standing by its chief executive, the alleged UDA boss Dee Stitt, after he "expressed sincere apologies" for a "lack of judgement" in comments made to the Guardian newspaper in which he described the loyalist band he belongs to as "homeland security".

The loyalist commander is refusing to step down from his post with the publicly funded Charter NI despite senior members of the DUP having stated publicly that he was to resign.

First Minister Arlene Foster said last week it was her understanding that he was to step aside and Jeffrey Donaldson MP told today's BBC Nolan Show that he believed Stitt was no longer in post.

Charter NI has since released a statement saying that Stitt had "expressed sincere apologies" to the organisation's board for his "lack of judgment" in the comments made to the Guardian.

The organisation said it would continue to "support our chief executive" and that it was "addressing the matter internally".

The statement also said that Stitt would continue to oversee the work of Charter NI as it "achieves continued success through positive project outcomes".

In an interview with the Guardian Stitt described a loyalist flute band he is a member of as "homeland security" and said the British government didn't give a "f**king f**k" about loyalist communities.

The Irish News reported last week that Stitt was resisting pressure to resign and instead had agreed to take time off in the hope that attention surrounding his £35,000 a year post would fade away.

The convicted armed robber has come under increasing pressure since the Irish News revealed last month that Charter NI was to receive £1.7 million from the Social Investment Fund for a job creation project.

The leading loyalist was pictured alongside First Minister Arlene Foster at the launch of the project who said later she did not regret standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the self confessed UDA commander, but added that it was her understanding that Stitt was due to resign.