NI Commonwealth Games chief raises safety concerns with PSNI

The chief executive of Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland has said he has spoken to the police over concerns for his safety amid suggestions the flag representing Northern Ireland at the games be changed.

Conal Heatley said some of his personal details have appeared on social media and their office has received "threatening messages" online after suggestions the Ulster Banner should no longer be used to represent NI athletes.

A proposal potentially replacing the flag is likely to be discussed by Commonwealth Games officials at an annual general meeting later on Wednesday.

Mr Heatley said their offices will also be closed for a few days until a security assessment is carried out.

In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it did not comment on the security of individuals and no inference should be drawn from that.

The PSNI added that police would take appropriate action when made aware of anything that may put an individual at risk.

The Ulster Banner was the flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland from 1953 until it was was abolished in 1973 .

It has no official status in Northern Ireland, although it is used by some sports teams.

While in the Olympics, athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to compete under the Union Flag (Team GB) or tricolour (Team Ireland), in the Commonwealth Games the Ulster Banner has been used as the flag of the NI contingent.

Unlike the Olympics, the four contingent parts of the UK compete separately at the Commonwealth Games, meaning none is represented by the Union Flag.

Conal Heatley told BBC News NI his organisation had received some “threatening and abusive language on social media” over the past couple of days.

“For the safety of staff and the public who may be using the office we have decided to keep it closed for the next few days and have reported those to the police," he said.

Mr Heatley said Northern Ireland had "to move on and progress”.

“We all want an inclusive and better future for our people,” he said.

“Any change in flag will rest with our politicians, we go back to the FICT report [Report by the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition ] which has been sitting up in Stormont and our question to our politicians is: ‘Can we please get movement on that, please?’."

The £800,000 Stormont report was released in December 2021 and was aimed at addressing disputes over flags and bonfires but has not been implemented almost three years since it was published.

The report did mention a new flag for Northern Ireland - it would "not be a regional flag or a national flag but rather a civic flag that would be designed to be representative of the diversity of our society, including our new communities".

However, it was unable to reach consensus on the proposal and said it hoped political and civic leaders could progress the issue.

In an interview earlier with the Belfast News Letter, Mr Heatley said the flag never had any official status and also said that it had been placed on the homes of some ethnic minority people as part of a bid to force them out.

He said: “That is not something we want to be associated with”.

Speaking to the News Letter, Mr Heatley outlined the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council's position on potentially changing the flag by saying: “Northern Ireland does not have a unique identifying flag”.

Mr Heatley told the newspaper that using the Union Flag to replace the Ulster Banner “doesn’t work”.

"Not for any political reason, but simply because the Union Flag also represents, could represent, England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, etc. It doesn't uniquely identify Northern Ireland..."

The Union Flag has no official status in Northern Ireland nor any other part of the United Kingdom.

Some unionist politicians have criticised any move to change the flag representing Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games.

Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme on Wednesday, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson said there should be no changes to the flag.

He also took issue with Mr Heatley linking it to any race hate incidents, in his interview with the Belfast News Letter.

"In Northern Ireland we have recognised over many years that sport unites people, yet here we have somebody in charge of encouraging success through sport engaging in politics in the most unhelpful way," Robinson said.

"I don't think this is a good initiative on his part, I don't think it assists in sport or assists in helping to bring people together.

"There are people here who proudly showcase their talent, be it for Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games, Team GB or Team Ireland in the Olympics, and they do it without any thought whatsoever about constitutional politics.

"Here is a man in charge of sport engaging in that discussion, he should leave it to politicians."