DUP are a 'milder form of Ku Klux Klan', says George Galloway
'Theresa May is now clinging to power on the tassels of an orange sash,' says former MP
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Your support makes all the difference.The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been called a "kind of Ku Klux Klan" by former MP George Galloway.
"They wear orange sashes at this time of year and they go on parades, provocative parades, through Roman Catholic areas," the one time Big Brother contestant told American TV host Larry King. "They are a kind of Ku Klux Klan — a milder form, maybe, of the Ku Klux Klan."
He added: "Theresa May is now clinging to power on the tassels of an orange sash."
His comments came after Prime Minister Theresa May agreed a supply and confidence" deal with the Northern Irish party, which will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation or budget votes, by either voting in favour or abstaining.
In return the party secured £1bn of extra funding, which will be spent on infrastructure and health spending in the country.
The Ku Klux Klan, the oldest white supremacist group in the US, is known for terrorising and murdering black Americans throughout its history.
It is also known for its anti-semitic and anti Catholic views.
The DUP meanwhile, was founded in 1971 by Ian Paisley, a firebrand Protestant preacher who regularly preached and protested against Catholicism, ecumenism and homosexuality.
As the prospect of a DUP-Conservative deal was raised, supporters of the DUP called for the Prime Minister to allow a banned loyalist Orangemen march through the city of Portadown.
They are currently prevented from marching in the flashpoint Gavaghy Road following a long history of sectarian violence and repeated riots during the Troubles.
Protests against the ban culminated in 1998 with the shocking murders of three young boys after their house was firebombed in a loyalist arson attack.
The marchers, who wear bowler hats and orange sashes, honour the date for Northern Ireland's protestants as it commemorates the Battle of the Boyne, when William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James II.
But for many Catholics, the marches are seen as contentious and sectarian, with traditional marching routes passing through or near Catholic areas.
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