Audio interview with Stewart Dickson, Alliance Party MLA for East Antrim, and Winston Irvine, PUP Director of Communications, by Stephen Nolan for BBC Radio Ulster The Nolan Show on 11 June 2013. On 9 May Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland respectively, announced a new strategy for building a shared future entitled ‘Together: Building a United Community’. This strategy included the establishment of a cross-party working group to deal with issues such as flags. However, until a concrete policy was decided, the PSNI stated that they would only enforce the removal of contentious flags if there was a threat to life. A Belfast City Council vote in December 2012 to only fly the Union flag above City Hall on designated days led to large public protests by sections of the unionist community. Dickson and Irvine discuss the decision made by the PSNI. The Nolan Show is BBC Radio Ulster’s daily current affairs programme.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 11 June 2013
Name of First Interviewee: Stewart Dickson
Name of Second Interviewee: Winston Irvine
Role at time of Interview: Stewart Dickson (Alliance Party MLA for East Antrim), and Winston Irvine (PUP Director of Communications)
Interviewer: Stephen Nolan
Purpose: News
Media: Audio
Copyright: BBC © 2013
Link: Listen to the interview
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Radio Ulster The Nolan Show
Time Period covered: 2012-2013
Key Individuals: Stewart Dickson, Winston Irvine, Peter Robinson, Martin McGuinness
Key Words: Flag, policing, community relations