FORMER SDLP LEADER and possible Irish presidential candidate Colum Eastwood said he rejected an offer for a knighthood from Westminster using ‘strong language’.

Speaking on BBC NI’s Red Lines podcast with Mark Carruthers, the former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader said a politician in Westminster extended the honour to him.

“I looked at the person and used language that I can’t use in this podcast and said: ‘Do you know who it is you’re talking to?’

“People in the political establishment in London don’t really understand the North, ” he said.

The Foyle MP, who resigned as SDLP party leader last October, said the politician then asked him he if he would like to join the privy council, but he declined that offer too.

The privy council is the formal advisory body to the monarch, privy counsellors advise the King on exercising the Royal Prerogative, which is the executive power of the monarch to make decisions such as declaring war.

“I said: ‘I tell you what, the Budget’s coming up, throw in a few quid for Derry from that Towns Fund and that’ll do alright,” Eastwood said.

“So we got £20m for Derry as part of that conversation.”

He described Westminster as “bonkers” for “going around offering people gongs to thank them or buy them in”.

“As someone who doesn’t want Westminster to even be running Northern Ireland I have absolutely no interest in any kind of gongs from any British government, I was happier with £20m for Derry.”

The SDLP is a social democratic and Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland. Their main aim is to join the North and South of Ireland using non-violent means and create a new Ireland.

The party was formed in 1970, and led by John Hume from 1979 to 2001.

It has previously been reported by the BBC that Eastwood is considering a bid for Áras an Uachtaráin.

When asked by Carruthers about a potential candidacy, Eastwood said: “The most important thing for me is to have a conversation about Irish unity as part of that presidential election”.

Eastwood said a “number of people from different political parties” have spoken to him about running in the election, but he has not yet made a decision on the matter.

The Journal previously reported that Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he is not aware of any engagement with Eastwood over becoming the party’s candidate for the Irish presidency.

When Carruthers put this to him, Eastwood said: “He should be surprised because we hadn’t talked about it”.

He said that although he had spoken to “credible” people within different political parties in the Republic, he had not spoken to Fianna Fáil leadership at the time.

The Foyle MP believes there will be a united Ireland “a lot sooner than people think”, and the Irish presidency would be useful in reaching this end.