A debate over marking the 50th anniversary of the Greenfinches has descended into “Punch and Judy politics” with councillors trading blows over IRA violence and UDR collusion.
The Greenfinches were set up on July 6, 1973 as unarmed recruits who assisted the UDR in female body searches during the Troubles.
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council carried by a majority vote a motion “to recognise their (the Greenfinches) service in an appropriate way" on the 50th anniversary with a reflection in chambers on the recent shooting of PSNI officer John Caldwell in Omagh.
Read more: March in memory of UDR soldiers killed by IRA takes place in Belfast city centre.
