Tempers flare in flags row

Union Flag not being flown at Castle Buildings

The failure of Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson to ensure the Union Flag is flown outside his office has been criticised by Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley.

Castle Buildings at Stormont in Belfast is where Mr Mandelson has his office but it is under the remit the health minister, Sinn Fein's Bairbre de Brun.

Both she and education minister, Martin McGuinness, have ordered that the Union Flag is not flown outside their departmental buildings.

Prior to the Ulster Unionist Council vote in favour of restoring power-sharing, Mr Mandelson had said he would retain the power to decide which flag would fly after the party's deputy leader expressed concern over the issue.

John Taylor had said Ulster Unionists had been particularly incensed when the Sinn Fein ministers had ordered the Union Flag not be flown over their buildings before the executive was suspended in February.

Mr Paisley said the secretary of state could not be trusted to defend the flying of the Union Flag as he had not objected to it not being hoisted outside his own office.

"Mr Mandelson is some man to defend the flying of flags on other government buildings."

He said it also exposed "Mr Taylor's great lie" about trusting Mr Mandelson to defend the flying of the Union Flag.

A spokesperson for Mr Mandelson said he had no power to fly the flag outside his office.

Peter Mandelson: Tenant of SF's Bairbre de Brun

"The secretary of state is only a tenant of the department of health and it is up to the minister of health to decide whether the Union Flag is flown outside her office."

The spokesperson added that Mr Mandelson had said he hoped the issue could be resolved by the restored executive but such a resolution would not happen "overnight".

During an interview on BBC Radio 4, Mr Mandelson said: "I do regard this as an unnecessary dispute.

"I said when I took the power a few weeks ago that I hoped the executive would be able to reach a consensus on this matter, and that remains the case."

Irish Ticolour flying at Sinn Fein's Stormont office

The flying of flags has become an emotive and divisive issue between republicans and unionists and is set to test the unity of pro-agreement parties within the Stormont assembly when it meets on Monday for the first time since the restoration of power.

Ulster Unionist arts and culture minister Michael McGimpsey accused Sinn Fein of breaching the Good Friday Agreement.

"Our problem of course, is firstly, the flying of the Union Flag is a legitimate expression of the consent principle.

"The denial by Sinn Fein ministers of that principle and, in effect, refusing to allow the Union Flag to fly over their departments, is in our view, a denial of the consent principle - the basic building block of the agreement."

However, Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy said the Good Friday Agreement allowed for parity of esteem.

The next designated day on which the Union Flag is flown is 10 June to mark the birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.