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A DUP councillor has been suspended for eight months following a standards investigation linked to tweets about Sinn Féin's John Finucane in 2019.

The local government watchdog found Marc Collins had breached the code of conduct.

Mr Collins is a representative of Mid and East Antrim Council.

He was sanctioned after a complaint involving a tweet he posted in November 2019 claiming Mr Finucane "supports and promotes the IRA".

At the time, Mr Finucane, now the Sinn Féin MP for North Belfast, was the party's candidate in the general election.

Mr Collins' tweet claimed that Mr Finucane "isn't innocent by any means".

The watchdog said he had also re-tweeted another message promoting banners erected in Belfast that contained allegations against members of the Finucane family.

Acting commissioner for standards, Katrin Shaw, said the tweets "went beyond the acceptable bounds of proper political debate and was unnecessary and personally abusive".

Her ruling said the councillor had failed to comply with the code of conduct by "failing to show respect" for Mr Finucane and his family.

The standards watchdog also said the councillor did not attend a sanctions hearing that took place last week.

He had written a letter saying he had not intended to harm Mr Finucane or his family and apologised for not engaging with the investigation, it added.

But Ms Shaw said Mr Collins's tweet had contributed towards a "toxic atmosphere" in North Belfast at the time of the general election

She also stated that the councillor's failure to engage with the investigation process had resulted in "unnecessary costs" to the taxpayer.

Ms Shaw said her decision to suspend Mr Collins for eight months was a "necessary and proportionate response".

A DUP spokesman said: "The investigation outcome has just been published. We will consider the finding."

���˿��� News NI has also approached Mr Collins for a comment but has not yet received a response.