Lord Maginnis, who compared being gay to bestiality, claims MP reported his ‘abusive’ behaviour because she’s ‘queer’
Ken Maginnis, member of the House of Lords. (JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP via Getty)
Lord Ken Maginnis, who compared being gay to bestiality, has said that an MP accused him of “abusive” behaviour because she is “queer” and just wants “cheap publicity”.
SNP MP Hannah Bardell, who is in a relationship with a woman, accused the member of the House of Lords of “abusive behaviour” towards House of Commons security staff on Wednesday, January 8.
She said that former Ulster Unionist MP Maginnis refused to show his security pass, then when security staff did not let him in he called them “crooked”, and asked “do they not know who he was”.
Bardell said it was “one of the worst cases of abuse of security staff” she had ever seen during her time as an MP.
Lord Maginnis admitted to the BBC that he had been “cross” and said that he had his pass in his bag but he did not take it out because he has arthritis.
He then told HuffPost UK: “[It] would probably all have blown over except this Bardell woman decided to get herself a bit of publicity.
“She and I are known to be on other sides – I am opposed to abortion, I am opposed to gay people like her seeking to change marriage.
“You might say I’m old fashioned, or you could say I’m conservative in Biblical terms – I mean, I’m not a preacher or anything.
“She obviously, being what she is and wanting to make changes, decided she would score a few points for herself.
“With no disrespect I have had a lot of experience before politics…
“I was a major for 12 years in the Ulster Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland, I survived 10 assassination attempts, so I’m not altogether a softie if you know what I mean by that.
“Queers like Ms Bardell don’t particularly annoy me.
“OK, she’s got her cheap publicity out of it.”
Responding to his comments, Bardell also told HuffPost UK: “It is unbelievable that someone who plays a part in the UK legislative process – albeit unelected – has made these comments… Lord Maginnis has now not only admitted to this terrible behaviour, but he is now turning to spouting this homophobic bile.
“While I might not annoy him, homophobic, rude and intolerable men abusing their positions of power annoy me, greatly.”
In 2012, the Ulster Unionist Party distanced itself from Maginnis after he equated homosexuality with bestiality.
Discussing his campaigning against same-sex marriage on BBC Radio Ulster, he said he would be “concerned about young children, that they would be influenced by [gay neighbours].
“This is not something private like your marriage or my marriage, this is something aggressive and demanding.”
He added: “Does that mean that every deviant sexual practice has to be accommodated? Will the next thing be that we legislate for some sort of bestiality?”
Maginnis then quit the party, stating that there was “no room for independent or logical thinking”.
