FORMER DUP leader Edwin Poots has claimed he was subjected to “verbal abuse” on a weekend flight from Glasgow to Belfast International Airport.
The South Belfast MLA said a male passenger directed the phrase "up the Ra" towards him.
The incident happened during an easyJet flight on Saturday evening, with video footage showing police boarding the aircraft as it landed at Aldergrove
The former Stormont agriculture minister told the Belfast Telegraph that the matter is under investigation by the police and that he did not wish to comment further.
When asked if the passenger in question had used the phrase ‘up the Ra’, Mr Poots replied: “Yes”.
“A passenger engaged in verbal abuse and obviously the police were there on arrival,” he said. “This is a matter for the police now and for their investigation.”
The incident comes just weeks after Mr Poots' predecessor Arlene Foster was subjected to similar abuse while posing for a selfie with 34-year-old Crossmaglen mother-of-two Sinead Murtagh.
The voluntary counsellor at St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook, who is now on personal leave, was condemned by many, including Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, who branded the scenes “deeply disrespectful”.
Dame Arlene said she found it “depressing” that any person would find it acceptable to use pro-IRA slogans.
Last week, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was fined €20,000 by UEFA after video footage emerged in October of the Republic of Ireland women’s team players celebrating qualifying for the 2023 World Cup by chanting the contentious line from the Wolfe Tones' Celtic Symphony song.
