Audio interview with Mark Cosgrove (UUP Mossley Hill councillor on Newtownabbey Borough Council), Tim Attwood (SDLP Upper Falls councillor on Belfast City Council) and Mervyn Jones (Alliance Party Victoria councillor on Belfast City Council) by Stephen Nolan for BBC Radio Ulster The Nolan Show on 4 December 2012. On the previous evening Belfast City Council voted to only fly the Union flag above City Hall on designated days rather than the entire calendar year. The motion was supported by Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party. This decision led to public protests by sections of the unionist community across Northern Ireland, but particularly in Belfast, during December 2012 and early January 2013. In some areas PSNI members were attacked and death threats sent to Northern Ireland politicians. Two DUP members were also warned of death threats, apparently from dissident republicans, during this period. Cosgrove, Attwood and Jones are interviewed about the impact of these initial protests on the political process in Northern Ireland. The Nolan Show is a daily current affairs programme on BBC Radio Ulster.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 4 December 2012
Name of First Interviewee: Mark Cosgrove
Name of Second Interviewee: Tim Attwood
Role at time of Interview: Mark Cosgrove (UUP Mossley Hill councillor for Newtownabbey), Tim Attwood (SDLP Upper Falls councillor on Belfast City Council), Mervyn Jones (Alliance Party Victoria councillor on Belfast City Council)
Interviewer: Stephen Nolan
Purpose: News
Media: Audio
Copyright: BBC © 2012
Link: Listen to the interview
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Radio Ulster The Nolan Show
Time Period covered: 2012
Key Individuals: Mark Cosgrove, Tim Attwood, Mervyn Jones
Key Words: Flag, UUP, protest, Sinn Fein, DUP, SDLP, violence, Alliance Party, Equality Commission, PSNI, policing