LOYALISTS erected a banner (right) across the lower Shankill Road comparing hard-working local Sinn Féin MLA Paul Maskey to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The large and elaborate banner, which is believed to have been erected in response to Sinn Fein’s protest against last Sunday’s controversial RIR ‘homecoming’ parade and which has now been taken down, read ‘Paul Maskey and Bin Laden – Blood Brothers’.

Councillor Maskey vowed he would not allow those responsible to intimidate him, and questioned their motivations for erecting the banner.

He said: “Obviously this banner has been erected in relation to our campaign against the British Minstry of Defence parade in Belfast on Sunday and, like the MoD, whoever put it up has no consideration for the countless people who have lost loved ones at the hands of the British army over the years.

“It won't deter me or Sinn Féin from our campaign for truth and justice for these families, and we won't allow ourselves to be intimidated out of our right to hold a peaceful, dignified protest.

“Also, given the location of this banner, it is ironic that it was from here that loyalists were firing live rounds at the British army during loyalist rioting on the Springfield Road as recently as  2005, so I think they need to question where their loyalties really lie,” he added.

A spokesperson for Roads Service said that they were aware of the banner and were investigating the circumstances of it going up.