A man was remanded in custody Thursday charged with threatening to kill Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson, amid a spate of death threats against politicians in the British province.
Darren Scott, 34, had been on a drinking spree when he made the threat in a telephone call to the emergency services number on Wednesday, Newtownards Magistrates’ Court heard.
The unemployed father-of-four had consumed 12 pints of cider and a number of bottles of WKD, a flavoured alcoholic drink, when he made the call.
Scott was charged with threatening to kill Robinson and improper use of an electronic communications network.
Detective Constable Owen Nevin said there was evidence of clear intent when Scott threatened to kill Robinson, who leads the Democratic Unionist party.
“There is evidence to back this up,” Nevin said.
The court heard that in another call, Scott took responsibility for the attempted murder of a female police officer whose patrol car was petrol-bombed on Monday when parked outside the offices of Belfast lawmaker Naomi Long.
But Nevin told the court: “There was no other evidence to back up the claim.”
In the calls, Scott expressed a desire to go to prison, the policeman added.
Scott was ordered to appear again on January 8.
Robinson is the latest politician to be subject to a threat since Protestant loyalists in Belfast took to the streets in protest at the city council’s decision to limit the number of days it flies the British flag.
Long received a death threat from loyalists over her Alliance Party’s support for the decision.
Senior Democratic Unionists Jeffrey Donaldson and Edwin Poots have also been threatened after they spoke out in favour of continuing to fly the flag all year round.
The British province has been hit by protests every night since the December 3 decision, with 40 arrests made and 29 police officers injured.
Man in court for death threat to N. Ireland First Minister
