The Sinn Fein councillor at the centre of the dispute over the Duchess of Abercorn's cancelled visit to St Mary's Primary School in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone, has denied changing his mind and says he still opposes a visit by the duchess.
In an interview in yesterday's Irish Times, Mr Finbar Conway had said he would not protest at a rearranged visit by the duchess as long as it was based on a locally reached agreement. However, yesterday Mr Conway said his position had not changed. "My position is the same as it was. As an Irish republican, I will not accept or give any allegiance to the Duchess of Abercorn," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
Mr Conway claimed that The Irish Times article was a "media spin" aimed at pressurising parents into accepting a visit they did not want. The regional official of the teachers' union, NASUWT, Mr Tom McKee, who had welcomed the Sinn Fein councillor's apparent change of heart, said it was "a bit naive" of Mr Conway to blame the media.
"The story is unresolved and the media have a legitimate right, in my view, to find out how it is going to develop," he said.
The SDLP MLA for Mid-Ulster, Mr Denis Haughey, yesterday criticised Mr Conway for changing his mind "again" and described the dispute as a "farce".
"What was a small tragedy has now descended into farce. Mr Conway had no right to use his influence to stop such an innocuous event in the first place," he said.