THE BROTHER of two Catholics murdered in Belfast 35 years ago has sought a meeting with Asda senior management after it emerged that the man at the centre of an alleged sectarian incident at the supermarket last week carried out the Ulster Volunteer Force double murder.
On Tuesday, William Charles Hunter, a checkout operator at Asda’s Shore Road store in north Belfast was reinstated in his job after he was sacked for asking a delivery driver at the store to play “The Sash” rather than the pop music he listening to on his van radio.
He made his remark around the Twelfth of July period. He was sacked after a Catholic shopper who overheard his comment complained to the store.
But his sacking prompted a four-day protest by hundreds of supporters including former UVF member and Progressive Unionist Party Assembly member Billy Hutchinson.
They described Mr Hunter as the “salt of the earth” and carried placards declaring “Our Forefathers Fought for the Sash” and “Asda Culture Robbers”.
After what Asda said was an independent appeal procedure Mr Hunter was reinstated in his job after he “expressed regret for the unintentional offence caused by the words he used when speaking to customers at the store”.
“Both Asda, William and his colleagues are now looking forward to drawing a line under what happened and getting back to the business of serving customers,” added an Asda spokeswoman.
It emerged yesterday that Mr Hunter was responsible for the sectarian killing of two Catholic brothers, Thomas and John McErlane in May 1975.
Their brother Gerard McErlane said he had sought a meeting with Asda management to discuss the issue.
He recalled how Mr Hunter had worked in a Belfast meat plant with his two brothers, John who was 29 – who was married with one child with his wife expecting a second child – and Thomas (19).
He said that for a number of months Mr Hunter and other loyalists had tried to “lure” the two brothers to travel to the loyalist Mount Vernon area of north Belfast to join in a regular card game.Ken Wilkinson, of the Progressive Unionist Party, which is linked to the UVF, said Mr Hunter was an ex-prisoner who had served his time and now wanted to get on with his life, and should be allowed to do so.
Of the disclosure about Mr Hunter’s past the Asda spokeswoman said: “We take care not to discuss our colleagues in public, particularly in matters that are clearly as sensitive as these.”
