Jamie Bryson lodges complaint against Irish Language Commissioner - as Pól Deeds repeats comments on the legality of opposing Gaelic policy

A complaint has been lodged with the public services watchdog over reported comments by Stormont’s new Irish language tsar about the loyalist Jamie Bryson – as Pól Deeds says that his words have been “cynically used”.

The Irish Language Commissioner has now queried an account of his comments – originally made in Irish – which hit the headlines last week.

Mr Deeds has denied saying that using the law was unlawful – arguing that in his “original” comments, he had stated his view that people “continuously voicing opposition” to implementing Irish language provisions may not be “entirely lawful”.

However, the Irish Language Commissioner’s office has declined to comment on questions about the matter – including whether he believes that challenging Irish language provision through the courts, or elsewhere, may be unlawful.

It follows a string of court cases and applications by Jamie Bryson over Executive policy on the Irish language – as well as his repeated questioning of the powers of the commissioner’s office on social media.

Now, Mr Bryson says he has lodged a formal complaint with the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) over reported comments by Mr Deeds. These included: “although he has poison and enmity, I have a law, and I will do my best to enforce that law”.

The campaigner told the News Letter: “Whilst [his] extraordinary outburst matters little to me, it is important that public office holders are held to the appropriate standards.

“Mr Deeds has shown himself to be frustrated with the limitations of his statutory powers, and has persistently sought to already indicate how he will push the lawful boundaries. This won’t be acceptable, and the first opportunity which arises he will be Judicially Reviewed and brought back into line using the legitimate legal process he so disparages”.

Mr Bryson said it is “extraordinary that a public office holder would make such comments about live legal proceedings, in which a High Court judge has ruled there is an arguable case”.

“Whether Mr Deeds likes it or not, Irish language campaigners are bound by the law as much as everyone else is. The NIPSO complaint is putting down a marker. Mr Deeds will be held accountable; he cannot come out with the sort of outbursts we witnessed last week. If it was any other public office holder their position would be untenable.

“It shouldn’t be left to any private citizen to have to take the lead in delivering accountability, but so far only the TUV has shown a willingness to do so, with the Executive in particular seemingly impotent to do anything about Mr Deeds”, Mr Bryson said.

In a social media post on Saturday, the Irish Language Commissioner (ILC) said that he “did not say using the law was unlawful”.

It follows a Belfast Telegraph article which quoted him as saying “I don’t even want his name in my mouth” when asked about online comments by Mr Bryson.

That article also reported Mr Deeds as saying: “He is going through these court cases, week after week, and I don’t know how he has the support he has… I do not myself believe that this is entirely lawful, and I will be questioning that.”

However, in a post on X, the commissioner said: “I did not say using the law was unlawful. The [original Irish] language interview was about my powers and I tried under pressure to steer it away from focusing on any individual”. He claimed his comments had been “cynically used” by the newspaper.

He then states that the original reads: “People are continuously voicing opposition to the implementation of these provisions that relate to the Irish language - I do not myself believe that this is entirely lawful and I will be questioning that”.

The News Letter asked Mr Deeds’s office how his comments that voicing opposition to the implementation of the provisions is not “entirely lawful” are different in substance to the original Belfast Telegraph translation.

The office was also asked whether the Commissioner disputes the fact that either quote suggests that challenging Irish language provision through the courts, or elsewhere, may be unlawful.

A spokesperson said: “the Commissioner has no further comment to make at this time”.