Equality body accused of peddling republican myths

The Ulster Unionist Party has accused the North's Equality Commission of peddling a myth about anti-catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland.

Party spokesman Dermot Nesbitt has called for a review of the commission's work after accusing it of underpinning republican propaganda and doing a disservice to unionists.

Mr Nesbitt insisted that structured or institutional religious discrimination does not exist in the North.

Sinn Fein, on the other hand, said Mr Nesbitt was wallowing in the mire of misinformation.

The party's equality spokesperson Bairbre de Brun said the most recent report on the matter found that catholics were more likely to be unemployed, living in poverty or in poor health.

Ms de Brun said Ulster unionists had presided over a discriminatory system for decades and appeared to be oblivious to the injustices they had inflicted.