JUSTICE Minister Naomi Long has said she "inadvertently" liked a Twitter post that accused the late Dennis Hutchings of "cowardly behaviour".
The Alliance leader and avid tweeter said she removed the "unintended like immediately" after her attention was drawn to it.
The East Belfast MLA was criticised for liking the tweet, which came a matter of hours after the former British soldier's death.
Blogger Jamie Bryson tweeted: "I do find it disturbing that this is the position adopted by the justice minister, not least as the issues Naomi purports to endorse as ‘facts’ were being contested at trial."
In her post explaining why she was un-liking the tweet, Mrs Long said she was "also conscious of my role as justice minister".
On Monday night, prior to liking the tweet, the Alliance leader said she had decided "not comment on or engage in the Twitter exchanges about Dennis Hutching's passing".
"I did so, because emotions are so raw," she tweeted.
"I'm conscious there are two hurting families – Mr Hutchings' and John Pat Cunningham's and I don't want to add to their pain."
In a further Twitter exchange yesterday morning with TUV press officer Sammy Morrison, the justice minister said she had inadvertently liked the tweet in question "after a full day's work and after midnight".
The post that Mrs Long liked said: "Heroes don't shoot innocent civilians with learning difficulties in the back as they are running away.
"That's cowardly behaviour in my book."
