'Flag harassment' condemned

Sectarian harassment in a County Antrim town must end, Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen has said.

Mr Cowen was speaking on Wednesday after an SDLP councillor in Larne claimed his elderly mother was threatened while confronting a group of "known UDA men" erecting an Ulster flag outside her home.

Mr Cowen called on those responsible for harassing Catholics in the town, including members of the local district policing partnership (DPP), to end "this provocation".

Danny O'Connor, a member of the local DPP, said his mother was taken to hospital following the confrontation in the Craigyhill estate on Monday night.

It is time for them to step up to the mark and show the decent people of Larne that they will take these flags of hate down Danny O'Connor SDLP councillor

The SDLP councillor said police officers had assured him during a recent DPP meeting that the "intimidatory placing" of flags would not be tolerated in Larne.

Mr O'Connor and SDLP leader Mark Durkan are to meet Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland on Thursday to express their "grave concern" over the police's handling of the flags issue.

Mr O'Connor said on Wednesday that the police needed to do more to take down the illegal flags.

"It is time for them to step up to the mark and show the decent people of Larne that they will take these flags of hate down," he said.

On Tuesday, a PSNI spokesman said the police had no powers to remove non-paramilitary flags.

"Many of the issues surrounding the flying of flags cannot be resolved by a policing solution. They can only be resolved by the whole community being prepared to work together to find an acceptable answer," he said.