THE DUP MLA who claimed Sinn Féin-branded posters urging motorists to slow down in Irish were "intimidatory" to unionists says he plans to press officials on why they were not removed.
Brian Kingston was speaking after the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said the posters with the words 'Go mall' – meaning 'slowly' as Gaeilge – are "not considered to cause any road safety issues for road users".
The posters were put up in June in the Deerpark and Oldpark Road area of north Belfast.
Mr Kingston subsequently complained about the display. At the time he said the posters were being displayed in a "mixed area".
"These illegal and political signs are considered intimidatory by unionist residents," he tweeted.
Sinn Féin criticised Mr Kingston for being "exercised about signs" while his party continued to block the restoration of Stormont in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The party said "if these signs help save one child's life then this is a worthwhile intervention".
But the former DUP mayor of Belfast told The Irish News he was "surprised" at the DfI decision because party political posters for elections "have to be with removed within a few weeks of polling day".
"Given that these are Sinn Féin branded posters, I will pressing the department further on why they are permitting these political posters which have been erected on lampposts and even trees," Mr Kingston said.
"They are particularly inappropriate and intimidatory for unionist residents who first raised this issue with me in the mixed Deerpark and Oldpark area."
The North Belfast MLA said many businesses and groups are told to remove signs erected without approval or planning permission.
"It can't be one rule for the rest of us and another rule for Sinn Féin," he said.
Since last October, roads officials have received 12 complaints about party-political signage on street furniture such as lampposts across Northern Ireland, BelfastLive reported.
