DUP MP the Rev William McCrea, commenting on the possibility of an SDLP/Sinn Fein electoral pact, has claimed that the SDLP and its leader, Mr John Hume, are "running scared" of republicans.
The appearance of Mr McCrea in Portadown during the summer with Mr Billy Wright, a leading loyalist, infuriated nationalist opinion and prompted calls for the SDLP to enter an electoral pact with Sinn Fein to defeat him in his Mid Ulster constituency.
A single nationalist candidate standing against Mr McCrea at the next Westminster election would almost certainly guarantee victory for nationalists, who have a significant majority in the constituency.
Mr McCrea, in a statement last night, criticised the SDLP for deciding at its annual conference at the weekend to leave to the discretion of its executive a decision on whether to enter a pact with Sinn Fein to field a single nationalist candidate in Mid Ulster. Previously, competition between the SDLP and Sinn Fein has ensured that Mr McCrea held the seat.
"The facts prove that the SDLP are running scared of Sinn Fein/IRA", Mr McCrea said. "The truth is also dawning on the SDLP that they will have to step aside and give precedence to their Sinn Fein/IRA senior partner, and that they have no one to thank for this change in electoral fortune but their own leader Mr Hume."
Mr McCrea again defended sharing a platform with Mr Wright, saying that he went to Portadown to protect the right of free speech and to try to prevent an internal feud within loyalism.
"Indeed, it was my public intervention that assisted to keep loyalists from breaching their ceasefire or falling into the trap laid for them by certain political strategists sympathetic to republicanism", he added.
Mr McCrea denied a claim by the SDLP chairman, Mr Jonathan Stephenson, that he represented only the minority unionist electorate in his constituency. The MP insisted that he provided "honest and fair representation" to every citizen in Mid Ulster, Protestant and Roman Catholic".
"I will fight for the needs of Draperstown as well as Tobermore, Arboe as well as Coagh, and have helped many in their hour of need throughout this constituency, from Strabane to Desertmartin", he added.
He complained that, while SDLP delegates were critical of him, they had not been equally condemnatory following a gun attack aimed at wiping out his entire family some years ago.
Mr Stephenson said that Mr McCrea's statement proved that he was "electorally rattled".
"Questions about electoral strategy ultimately will be decided by our party executive when an election is called. There is no question, however, that Willie McCrea is held in utter contempt by the vast majority of his constituents as someone who has brought country and western music into disrepute, never mind politics", Mr Stephenson said.
Meanwhile, the multi party talks at Stormont were adjourned yesterday until next Monday. This week, the parties engaged in multilateral talks aimed at breaking the deadlock over decommissioning, but little progress was reported.
The deputy leader of the Alliance Party, Mr Seamus Close, said that it was essential to resolve the matter quickly.
