Statement by TUV Party President William Ross:

“The latest attempts to officially change the name of Londonderry can only serve to further alienate the Protestant population of the city. Londonderry’s connections with the capital of the United Kingdom are deep and historic. The name is hugely important to the Unionist minority in the City and, indeed, many people throughout Northern Ireland.

“For many decades now the beleaguered Unionist minority of Londonderry have been at the receiving end of a concerted campaign to strip the city of anything remotely associated with their culture. While Nationalists, particularly from Londonderry, are good at delivering lectures on the importance of tolerance and mutual respect they have singularly failed to put it into practice.

“It is not very often that the Equality Commission gets anything right but its recommendation that the City Council suspend plans to change the official name of the city from Londonderry is a welcome development.

“Under no circumstances should the city’s name be changed. Current moves in that direction are deeply insensitive to the concerns and fears of the Unionist minority of the city. It’s high time the council got off their backs!”