James Andrew Spratt (19 August 1951 – 4 March 2021) was a

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(DUP) politician and police officer from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Belfast from 2007 to 2015.

Early life

Spratt was a former

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

(RUC) officer who joined in 1972 and served for 30 years in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He worked for the Close Protection Unit including as Primary Protection Officer and was attached to a former Secretary of State, NIO Ministers, the RUC Chief Constable and other VIPs. He was heavily involved in the Police Federation for Northern Ireland and acted as Chairman. He served on Government Committees at regional and national level representing the British Police Service and has served on the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

Working Group for Health and Safety and Police Negotiating Board for pay and conditions across the UK.

Political career

Spratt was an MLA for South Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2007 to 2015. He was also a Councillor on Castlereagh Borough Council from 2005 to 2014, and served as the leader of the DUP group. Political positions held: * Councillor 2005—2014 * MLA 2007—2015 * Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Employment and Learning 2007—2008 * Member of the Committee of the Office of First and Deputy First Minister 2007—2015 * Chairman of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee 2008—2015? * Member of the

Northern Ireland Policing Board The Northern Ireland Policing Board (, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Polisin Boord'') is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). It is a non-department ...

2008—2011 * Chairman of the Regional Development committee 2011—2015? He stood as a DUP candidate for the Belfast South constituency in the 2005 general election, losing his seat to

Alasdair McDonnell Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is a retired Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2011 to 2015, having served as deputy leader between 2004 and 2010. He ...

of the

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs ...

by 1,235 votes. Gaining the name Splitter Spratt. In the 2010 general election he again lost, and McDonnell increased his majority from 3.9% to 17.3%.

Other

When the chief executive of Translink was criticised for not appearing before Stormont's regional development committee, Spratt said that he did not think it was "a hardship for someone on £200,000" to appear before it and "explain what's going on". Spratt made uncomplimentary and impolitic comments regarding cyclists and called those who objected to the proposals for the Maze 'nutters', which he denied until Hansard was published and he was obliged to apologise.

Personal life

Spratt was married for over 30 years, with four sons and was an active member of his local

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church. He died on 4 March 2021, at the age of 69.

References

1951 births 2021 deaths Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Democratic Unionist Party councillors Members of Castlereagh Borough Council Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Presbyterians from Northern Ireland Royal Ulster Constabulary officers Police officers from County Down People from Saintfield {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub