Carla Lockhart rejected criticism on Sunday after photographs from a counter-demonstration in Scarva showed her standing near masked men as a Palestine solidarity walk passed nearby. The DUP MP said she had been on the ground to keep tensions from rising, not to inflame them.

Her response came after politicians from several parties condemned her attendance once the images spread on social media. Around 1,500 pro-Palestine marchers had walked along a canal towpath from Lurgan to Newry on Saturday morning, with the route running alongside Scarva in the County Down village, where a counter-demonstration took place at the same time.

Lockhart said she would “never apologise for standing with my community” and said the protest passed without serious incident because of work done that day, not by chance. She said she was in Scarva with other unionist representatives and community leaders, and that they engaged with senior police officers, relayed concerns, encouraged restraint and worked to ensure calm heads prevailed.

The criticism hardened around the images themselves. Claire Hanna described them as “bleak and disturbing” and said there was “an MP surrounded by masked men in 2026.” Chris Hazzard said Scarva was “a welcoming place defined by beautiful forests, mountains, and beaches - not masked intimidation,” and challenged Lockhart to look at what the area offers “rather than standing with masked men intimidating women & children.” Eóin Tennyson said Upper Bann deserved better leadership and argued MPs should be challenging intimidation and sectarianism wherever it appears, not standing with masked men while abuse is being hurled.

Naomi Long also accused Lockhart of “playing to a crowd who were wearing masks and shouting abuse,” adding that leadership is measured not by social media posts after an event but by whether someone is willing to show up when tensions are high and difficult decisions need to be made. Lockhart pushed back directly, saying those who were not there had no right to rewrite events or lecture people who were dealing with the reality on the ground.

The dispute leaves one question hanging over Scarva: what role the masked men were playing, and how closely Lockhart interacted with them while she says she was trying to calm the situation. For now, the political fight is not about whether the photographs exist. It is about what they meant, who was trying to control the street, and whether the MP’s presence helped steady the scene or simply put her in the middle of the wrong image at the wrong time.