The Alliance leader, Lord Alderdice, has accused the unionist No campaign against the Belfast Agreement of spreading lies and misinformation. Launching his party's Yes campaign yesterday, he said the referendum later this month offered the chance of peace and political stability.
Lord Alderdice said that in contrast to the No campaign, his party's message was positive and forward-looking. "Let me say quite clearly that a Yes vote on May 22nd gives the chance of peace and political stability.
"It doesn't guarantee it, but I can tell you this for sure - a No vote will certainly mean that there won't be peace." He said that from now to referendum day the single priority of his party was to tell people the truth about the Belfast Agreement.
"The level of lies and misinformation that has been inspired by the No campaign has been disappointing. Their campaign for a No vote began long before the parties that had the courage to stay at the talks had reached any agreement.
"It is perhaps not surprising that the information they are giving people bears little similarity to the contents of the agreement." He also accused both unionist and nationalist supporters of the agreement of claiming it was respectively a unionist and a nationalist document when in fact it was a compromise.