UUP members escape punishment for attending Catholic funeral

Two senior Ulster Unionist politicians will not face Orange Order punishment for attending the funeral of a Catholic policeman murdered by dissident republicans.

Party leader Tom Elliott and Stormont regional development minister Danny Kennedy, both long-time Orangemen, were subject to a complaint from an Orange lodge in Belfast for their decision to attend Requiem Mass for Constable Ronan Kerr in April.

According to Orange Order rules, members are forbidden from taking part in religious services that are not of the reformed Protestant faith and the lodge from Sandy Row in south Belfast claimed the two UUP men had put political expediency ahead of their principles.

But after the politicians attended disciplinary hearings, the Order’s leadership has now decided not to uphold the complaint.

The Sandy Row lodge has the option of appealing against the decision. It is not yet clear whether it will opt to do so.

The controversial rule is often observed in the breach, with many rural Orangemen attending funerals of Catholic neighbours.

Constable Kerr, 25, was killed in a booby-trap car bomb outside his home in Omagh, Co Tyrone as he prepared to go to work.

The funeral of the gaelic footballer in nearby Beragh saw all sides of the community unite to condemn the murder.