Northern Ireland

Emma Little-Pengelly and Naomi Long in Twitter spat over Ian Paisley's holidays

DUP MPs Emma Little-Pengelly and Ian Paisley, and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long
DUP MPs Emma Little-Pengelly and Ian Paisley, and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long DUP MPs Emma Little-Pengelly and Ian Paisley, and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long

THE DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly and Alliance leader Naomi Long have had a Twitter spat over Ian Paisley's luxury holidays in countries where Christians face persecution.

It came after the British government announced a review into how it can provide greater help for persecuted Christians around the world.

Ms Little-Pengelly welcomed the review in a social media post, but Ms Long responded by highlighting how the Maldives and Sri Lanka are on a global 'watch list' of places where Christians face the most persecution.

DUP North Antrim MP Mr Paisley has faced criticism for accepting holidays in the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

In July he received an unprecedented 30-day suspension from the House of Commons after failing to declare two luxury family holidays to Sri Lanka in 2013 paid for by its government, for which he later lobbied.

And earlier this month he faced questions over receiving a complimentary holiday at a luxury Maldives resort some months after advocating on behalf of its government.

A Westminster standards watchdog has been urged to investigate but Mr Paisley has denied any wrongdoing, insisting it was a private family vacation paid for by himself and a friend unconnected to his work.

The Maldives and Sri Lanka are at numbers 13 and 44 respectively in the Open Doors world watch list, which annually ranks the 50 countries where Christians face "the most extreme persecution".

Open Doors is an international organisation which aims to provide support for persecuted Christians.

Responding to Ms Long, Ms Pengelly said the Alliance MLA was "making a petty political dig against the wrong person".

The DUP South Belfast MP tweeted: "I am 100 per cent consistent on this. I have supported Open Doors on these issues throughout. I feel deeply passionate in this cause.

"You are making a petty political dig against the wrong person here. We should all be welcoming this news, not trying to score political points."

Earlier, Ms Pengelly said that persecution of Christians "across the globe is on the rise", and that her party colleague Jim Shannon "has been at the forefront of this campaign as chair of the APPG [All-Party Parliamentary Group] at Westminster on religious tolerance".

The Irish News asked the DUP whether it would support the government review examining the Maldives and Sri Lanka, but the party last night did not respond.

However, it separately issued a statement on behalf of Mr Shannon which did not mention Mr Paisley, the Maldives or Sri Lanka.

The Strangford MP welcomed the review and said the party has worked closely with Open Doors.

"In a country where we have religious liberty to practice our faith, it seems unimaginable that in 2018 people are put to death just because they worship the Lord Jesus Christ," he said.

He added: "It is one thing to have an investigation but the UK must flex its international muscles to challenge those governments who turn a blind eye or actively participate in persecuting Christians."

The review will be led by the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Reverend Philip Mounstephen, and will report back around Easter.

It follows what officials described as a "dramatic rise in violence" against Christians, with an average of 250 killed each month.