A Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP has been condemned for referring to an all-black line up in a gospel edition of Songs of Praise as “the BBC at it’s BLM (Black Lives Matter) worst”.
East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has been accused of “race-baiting” by campaigners who are calling on him to apologise.
Opposition politicians have also called for Mr Gregory to apologise and have urged the DUP to take action against him.
Mr Campbell’s comments came in a Facebook post on 31 January following the semi-final of the gospel singer of the year competition.
Mr Campbell wrote: “There were five singers, all of them black. There were three judges all of them black and one presenter who was incidentally, yes black.
“The singers were all very good but can you imagine an all-white line up with an all-white jury and presented by a white person? No I can’t either.”
Northern Ireland’s North West Migrants Forum (NWMF) said it is “both astonishing and shocking that Mr Campbell watched this deeply moving edition of Songs of Praise, full of love and praise for God, and saw only skin colour.”
In a statement that has been signed by more than 1,500 people and community organisations and charities, NWMF added: “Mr Campbell’s statement is not a trivial matter. It is deeply irresponsible.
“It is deeply worrying that Mr Campbell can confidently display such clear bias, apparently without fear of challenge or accountability.”
The statement continued: “Given his role as an elected representative and public servant, Mr Campbell’s statement cannot go unchallenged. The potential costs are too high.”
Sinn Féin said it had reported Mr Campbell’s comments to the parliamentary standards commissioner.
One of the party’s MLAs, Caoimhe Archibald, called on the DUP to “take action” against their MP, adding “there can be no place for racism in society”.
She added: “Gregory Campbell’s disgraceful comments don’t reflect the views of the vast majority of the constituents he’d purport to represent.”
Stephen Farry, an Alliance Party MP, urged the DUP to remove the whip from Campbell.
Mr Campbell has previously come under fire for mocking the Irish language while speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Independent has contacted the DUP for comment.
