A FORMER Sinn Féin councillor has sought to clarify his comments following a Twitter backlash after calling for street protests amid the coronavirus crisis.
Jim McVeigh, former Sinn Féin group leader on Belfast City Council, said "we should take to the streets to protest" if a universal basic income is not introduced for those who lose their jobs.
The trade union activist's comments were criticised online as people warned that mass gatherings would risk further spreading the deadly virus.
He later told The Irish News he was not calling for large gatherings, and suggested other means of protest such as white-line pickets.
Mr McVeigh, who describes himself online as a "Sinn Féin activist and trade union activist", had called on British prime minister Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to introduce a universal basic income.
He tweeted: "We r not all in this together (sic). The Tories in Britain & Ireland don't give a F about ordinary people.
"If Johnson & Varadkar don't introduce a universal basic income for all those made redundant soon. I think we should take to the streets to protest!"
In response one Twitter user wrote: "Taking social distancing seriously I see," while another said sarcastically: "Yes, let's take to the streets and protest – and spread the virus."
One tweeted that it was the "last thing we need right now" and "could easily get out of hand".
Mr McVeigh said his online remarks were a personal opinion and were not conveying the position of SIPTU, although he said his trade union is "calling on both governments to introduce a universal basic income".
"We need both governments, if we're all in it together, then step up and make sure the people who have been laid off through no fault of their own, are paid a decent income to pay their bills and feed their families," he said.
He said that any potential demonstrations should be "in a way which is safe and doesn't spread the virus".
"I have my own ideas of what that would be. It could be a case of people placing things in their windows. It could be a case of people gathering in white-line pickets a safe distance apart. It could be vehicle cavalcades. It could be letters to the press," he said.
"It certainly wasn't about me saying 'let's all meet down the front of city hall or the front of Leinster House and protest'."
Mr McVeigh, who stood down from Belfast council in 2018, added that "if something drastic isn't done and isn't done quickly, I think we do need to find a way to protest".
