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

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

(DUP) politician and police officer from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. 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 Royal ...

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

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. 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 The Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) is the representative body to which all members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland belong up to and including the rank of Chief Inspector, as well as the ranks of reserve and part-time offic ...

and acted as Chairman until his retirement. He served on Government Committees at regional and national level representing the British Police Service and has served on the Home Office 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 The Committee for Employment and Learning was a Northern Ireland Assembly committee established to advise, assist and scrutinise the work of the Department for Employment and Learning and Minister of Employment and Learning. The committee also ...

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 ( ga, Bord Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Polisin Boord'') is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Nor ...

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 Dr Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is an Irish politician who is a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and was its leader from 2011 to 2015. He was the Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 2005 to 2017 and ...

of the

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irelan ...

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 part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

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