DUP politician slammed for homophobic remark

The Tories have spent most of the past week talking about potential post-election scenarios. Yet one that they’ve yet to disown is that they could rely on the support of the Northern Irish DUP.

Here’s a video from last night of Jim Wells – Northern Ireland’s DUP Health Minister – which appears to link child abuse and gay relationships:

https://twitter.com/ClareC9/status/591368672846946304

Wells has since both defended and apologised for the remarks (depending on whose interpretation of his follow up statement you believe), but these are troubling remarks from a party that could have huge influence over the Tories in just a few weeks. (Update: Shadow Northern Ireland Secretay Ivan Lewis told LabourList: “It is right that Jim Wells has apologised for these highly inappropriate remarks. There can be no  justification for false and stigmatising statements about LGBT people. There should be a commitment to zero tolerance of homophobia across the United Kingdom including in Northern Ireland.”)

Now in fairness to Cameron, he said just a couple of days ago that he “will never validate” the DUP’s views on gay rights. But he’s refused to rule out doing a deal with the DUP.

And back in 2013 when Tory MP David Jones was David Cameron’s Welsh Secretary, he said that:

“I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same sex partners can’t do.”

And here’s the video of Jones’s vile remarks:

He remained in Cameron’s cabinet for almost a year and a half after that…