The Five Demands

IRA graffiti sprayed on church walls (UTV)

Sectarian graffiti, including IRA slogans, has been sprayed on the walls of a Protestant church in Londonderry.

The messages appeared at Ballyarnett Presbyterian Church over the weekend.

East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell condemned it and called for the PSNI to “make a visible and determined” effort to tackle incidents such as this.

“The graffiti was grossly offensive, sectarian and blatantly anti-Protestant,” he said.

“Whilst an attack like this can raise tensions, I would urge everyone to be calm. There should be no retaliation. The onus must firmly lie with the police to reassure Protestants that proper security will be provided and every effort will be made to bring those responsible to justice.”

Sinn Féin deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness took to Twitter to blast the vandals behind the attack as “hate-filled bigots”.

Police are investigating the incident at the Racecourse Road building.

They believe the graffiti was painted at some time between 2.30pm on Saturday and 10.30am on Sunday morning, on church’s the front walls.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact officers on 0845 600 8000.

Sinn Féin councillor Tony Hassan has also slammed those responsible for the attack, saying they “do not represent” the views of local people.

He added: “The people who wrote sectarian and other graffiti on the walls of the Ballyarnett Church are vandals who don’t represent the local community and certainly not Republicans.

“Despite the words ‘you are not welcome’ being daubed on the walls I can reassure Reverend Rosborough that he and his church are very much welcome in this area.

“There has been a Presbyterian community in Ballyarnett area for many years and I hope for many years in the future. The local community are outraged at this act of vandalism and I would call on people to stop these actions especially against a place of worship.”