Citizenship ceremony plan had potential to ‘damage community relations in NI’ Government plans to introduce ceremonies for people wanting to become UK citizens had the potential to “damage community and race relations in Northern Ireland”, a Stormont official warned in 2003.
Prior to the law being introduced, the Home Office sent a consultation document to devolved regions in July 2003, setting out its plans for naturalisation applicants to take a citizenship oath and pledge at the citizenship ceremony.
Newly declassified files show Ken Fraser, a civil servant at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM), sent an internal email to official Linda Devlin setting out his “worries” about the plan.
He added: “The consultation document states that the Government believes it would be right to agree that elements such as national symbols and the national anthem should feature in the ceremony…..and many of those becoming citizens would expect to see the same here.
The official said the proposal to have “low-key” citizenship ceremonies at Hillsborough, Co Down, was a “tacit admission” of this and instead suggested allowing a “block exemption” from compulsory attendance in the region.
