The families of two people killed by drink driving have called on the UUP to overturn a decision to choose triple-convicted drink driver Derek Hussey as an election candidate.
Mr Hussey, a sitting councillor in Derry and Strabane, was disqualified from the council in the summer of 2019 over his three convictions for drink driving.
He was reinstated after a 15-month suspension and earlier this week it emerged he has been selected by the UUP to seek re-election.
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Two families bereaved by drink driving are calling for Mr Hussey to step aside – and for the UUP to reverse its decision to allow him to stand.
Robert Bradley was a 20-year-old student when he was killed by a drink-driver as he walked home from work in the early 2000s.
His sister, Aileen Tester, told Belfast Live there is a “huge moral question” that the UUP has failed to answer.
And Martin Gallagher, whose son – also named Martin – was killed while returning from Halloween celebrations in the city in 2009 by a drink driver, said the UUP and Mr Hussey’s decision shows “drink driving isn’t taken seriously enough”.
Mrs Tester, responding to news that Mr Hussey is seeking re-election, said: “It is disappointing to see given his history and it shows, I think, his attitude – he’s a triple convicted drink driver.
“We, as a family and I know the Gallagher family too, had hoped that on reflection he would decide not to stand again – or that his party would see the strength of feeling.
“This is not to do with politics, not to do with parties, it’s about zero tolerance to drink driving. It reflects so badly on the Ulster Unionist Party and on Derry City Council.
“He was deputy Mayor. He represented our city whilst still serving a driving ban.”
She continued: “There’s a huge moral question and that is not being answered by the Ulster Unionist Party.
“How can you have a zero tolerance approach when you have someone sitting there who has been convicted multiple times?
“There are so many families who have lost loved ones. Accidents happen but drink driving is a choice. Drink driving isn’t an accident, it’s a choice, and it’s been a repeated choice.”
Mr Gallagher, meanwhile, said: “Drink driving isn’t taken seriously enough. I think, for some people, it might take them getting a knock on the door in the middle of the night and finding out their child has been killed by a drunk driver before they realise how serious it is.”
Mrs Tester, reflecting on the heartbreak of losing her brother, said: “Robert was a student of broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and, as he walked home in the early hours of December 16 after work a drunk-driver who was over three times the legal limit went the wrong way down a one-way street. There was work going on for tramlines. She came through at speed and hit Robert, killing him instantly, and hit a girl from Manchester – Alexandra Veeder – who died that night in hospital.
“Robert had been working in the students’ union that night. He was walking home after work.
At the time, we were in Dublin because our other brother had been knocked down. That’s where we were when we got the news.
“It was devastating. Our family has never been the same since. Mammy always said for a parent to hold their child’s birth certificate and their death certificate is against nature. It was because someone made a choice, a very wrong choice, and it’s hard to take. It leaves such a gap. Robert was only 20 when he died.”
The UUP has been approached for comment.
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