President denies singling out Northern Protestants

The President Mary McAleese is denying that she intended to single out the Protestant community in the North over contentious comments made yesterday.

Mrs McAleese said children in the North developed a hatred for Catholics in the same way that Nazis were hostile to Jews.

The remarks were made prior to her attendance at 60th anniversary events to mark the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Her comments infuriated the Unionist population in the North, including the DUP’s Ian Paisley Jnr.

Today a spokesperson for the President said that she was speaking about the effects of hatred around the world and the Northern conflict was just one of the examples she used.

The statement added that the President never intended to single out the Protestant people of the six counties and Mrs McAleese’s record of equal and sincere of both communities was well documented.

However, President McAleese could receive a cold welcome when she visits Belfast next month.