Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has said he is disappointed that remarks referring to him as a “traitor” were not challenged during a rally against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Co Armagh.

       Before the event in Lurgan on Friday evening an election poster of Mr Beattie with a noose around his neck was also left on a bench.

       Fellow unionist leaders Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Jim Allister removed the poster from view, and both have condemned those who left the poster.

       Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Jim Allister removing the poster (Liam McBurney/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Rallies have been taking place across Northern Ireland outlining unionist and loyalist opposition to the post-Brexit protocol which sees additional checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

       Recommended Ukraine war: Nehammer meets Putin for talks Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict simply explained

       It is strongly opposed by unionists as a border in the Irish Sea.

       UUP leader Mr Beattie has refused to attend the rallies, claiming that they are raising tensions.

       During Friday’s event, one of the organisers of the rally, Roy Ferguson, described the Ulster Unionist leader as a “Lundy” and a “traitor”.

       People take part in a rally in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol at Brownlow House in Lurgan (Liam McBurney/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Speaking in Co Down on Monday, Mr Beattie said: “I am not a traitor, I am not a Lundy, I am the Ulster Unionist Party leader.

       “I served my country and I am disappointed that he was not challenged in the words that he said.”

       Mr Beattie announced he would not attend the anti-protocol events after a security alert halted a peace-building event in north Belfast last month which Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney had been addressing.

       Since then, Mr Beattie’s constituency office in Portadown was attacked when the front window was smashed with a brick.

       DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Liam McBurney/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Mr Beattie said: “I have had really good messages from people saying don’t let it get you down.

       “It hasn’t, I will not be distracted by bullies. I have faced worse.

       “I hope there is something to be learnt by what happened on Friday, that people can see the dangers of moving in the wrong direction.

       “I also have a concern that these rallies are not just about the protocol. They are turning into anti-Belfast agreement rallies and I am not being associated with that.

       “We have to be mindful of our words, we have to understand that our words can have reactions.”

       Jim Allister speaking during the rally in Lurgan (Liam McBurney/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       TUV leader Mr Allister told the BBC’s Nolan Show that it was “wholly wrong” that Mr Beattie was described as a traitor.

       He said: “I think that was wholly wrong. Lundy has a particular pernicious meaning in loyalist circles and there was nothing to justify calling Doug Beattie a Lundy or a traitor.

       “If you watch the video you will see I give no support or applause to those comments and I am very clear about that.”

       DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC: “I have much respect for Doug Beattie as the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.

       “I count him as a friend, we have known each other for many years.”

       Recommended Lord Pickles sorry he ‘misspoke’ in getting Grenfell death toll wrong Easter could bring hottest temperatures of year so far with highs of up to 22C Grandmother will ‘cherish’ time with family after ￡1m lottery win

       Referring to the poster, he added: “I was just appalled that someone would think this was a clever or the right thing to do.

       “It is not. It is offensive, it is harmful, it undermines the cause that these people might purport to support and I don’t want to see any of that kind of behaviour.”