McAleese urged to postpone visit to loyalist Shankill

Unionists have called on President Mary McAleese to postpone a planned visit to the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast later this month following her controversial comments on sectarian hatred.

Mrs McAleese sparked outrage among Northern unionists when she appeared to compare Protestant sectarianism to Nazi hatred during an interview about the Auschwitz commemorations.

She later apologised for her "clumsy remarks", but Ulster Unionist politicians have asked her to postpone her planned Shankill visit on February 24 because there is still a sense of hurt and outrage among the local Protestant community.