Trevor Clarke

Trevor Clarke MLA (born 28 July 1967) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim since June 2017, having previously served from 2007 to March 2017. Clarke is the DUP's Spokesperson for Policing.

Political career
Clarke was first elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) member for South Antrim. Clarke lost his seat at the 2017 Assembly election, but was later co-opted by the DUP after Paul Girvan was elected in the 2017 general election to represent South Antrim in the House of Commons.

Controversies
Speaking in the Assembly in November 2016, he confessed to not knowing that heterosexual individuals could contract HIV, which was criticised by Elton John.

In 2020, Clarke apologised for liking a social media post suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic was "God's punishment" for the legalization of same-sex marriage and abortion.

In 2021, Clarke defended meeting with loyalist paramilitaries, stating that "examples like that" showed "leadership".

Personal life
Clarke is active in the Orange Order. His wife Linda is a DUP councillor.

Links

 * Profile, dup.org.uk; accessed 15 May 2016.