AN Enniskillen man embroiled in controversy over the singing of the national anthem at Stormont has refuted the claim that it was a “stunt”.

Samuel Morrison, a member of Traditional Unionist Voice, began singing 'God Save The Queen' at the end of a Remembrance Service on Armistice Day and was joined by other unionists.

“Remember, the national anthem would have been sung at the Enniskillen service in 1987 but the IRA prevented it with a bomb. Why should Sinn Fein prevent it being sung by other means now?” he told The Impartial Reporter.

Mr. Morrison said he started singing the national anthem because it was not on the event's order of service and has accused Sinn Fein of not wanting it included in the ceremony.

“I didn’t know that the national anthem was to be excluded from the order of service. At all the previous events I had attended at Stormont it had been included and I only learned of its absence when I was handed an order of service around 10:40am on Wednesday morning. Between then and the close of the act of Remembrance I made the decision that I was going to sing it anyway.”

Singing the national anthem resulted in a backlash from some politicians, including Sinn Fein's Carál Ní Chuilín who accused Mr. Morrison of “disrespecting” the spirit of the event by engaging in what she called a “childish stunt.”

Mr. Morrison, Jim Allister's press officer, rejected this and added: “If it was a stunt to promote my party it was a foolish one because I will not be a candidate in the upcoming Assembly election.”

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mike Nesbitt, also described Mr. Morrison's actions last week as a “stunt”.

“Frankly I find Mr Nesbitt’s comments insulting. Not only did he accuse me of a stunt but he accused me of ambushing people. An ambush, according to the dictionary, is a sudden attack from a concealed position. I have never ambushed anyone.”

Asked if he was appreciative of Sinn Fein members, including Martin McGuinness, attending the event, Mr. Morrison said: “No. I would be appreciative of Martin McGuinness telling us what he knows about Enniskillen, not his party demanding changes to a Remembrance event to facilitate his attendance.”

Some of his critics have accused Mr. Morrison of using Enniskillen for his “own political gain.”

“How could I be said to be using Enniskillen for political gain when I won’t be a candidate in the next Assembly elections? What do I gain by this? It certainly won’t be votes because my name won’t be on any ballot paper in a few months’ time of whenever the Assembly election is called. I did what I did simply because I believed at the time as I still believe now that it was the right thing to do.”

He says some people who lost loved ones in the Enniskillen bombing have been in touch to offer him their support.

“Some of the messages I have received from victims have been very moving. I have also been contacted by members of the Ulster Unionist Party including people in elected office who expressed their disappointment with what Mr. Nesbitt has said about the matter.”

Mr. Morrison has compared the Enniskillen bombing with the terrorist attack in Paris last week which at the time of writing had left 129 people dead and many more injured.

“The difference between Paris and Enniskillen is the scale of death, not the principle. What we saw in Paris last week was the same evil of terrorism which we witnessed in Enniskillen in November 1987. As you ask about Paris isn’t it interesting that the natural reaction of people to the attacks both at the football stadium and in the national Parliament was to spontaneously sing their national anthem? In Northern Ireland, however, people expect us to drop our national anthem in order to accommodate the terrorists. I find that disgusting,” he said.