Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald has written to Causeway Coast and Glens Council asking them to support the campaign to build a statue of LGBTQ+ activist Mark Ashton in Portrush.

The East Derry MLA said:

“Mark Ashton is well known for his campaigning for equality as one of the founders of the Lesbians and Gays support the miners campaign.

“There is a currently a campaign to build a statue of Mark in Portrush where he grew up.

“There are memorials of him elsewhere including in Paris and London but not here in the north.

“We all have a duty to continue to make society more inclusive and I believe this statue will increase LGBTQ+ visibility across the borough which will help promote the area and support tourism.

“I have written to the Council asking them to support this campaign.”