Must be great to be in politics ... rubbing noses with the rich & famous.

Billionaire behind UUP New York fundraiser "may not attend function"

A spokesperson for billionaire Ronald S Lauder, ho has invited guests to buy guests for a $1,000-a-plate UUP fundraiser in New York tonight (Wednesday), has said he may not now attend the event, the Irish language daily Lá reveals today (Wednesday).

The admission comes after the prominent New York Republican came under fire from the Brehon Law Society (which has NGO status at the UN) and other Irish-American groups in the US for backing the UUP while it remains tied to the Orange Order.

Mr Lauder who owns the perfume corporation Estee Lauder sent out invitations to the Manhattan event on behalf of the Friends of Great Britain and Northern Ireland group asking guests to make cheques out to the UUP.

In his letter, Mr Lauder claims the UUP "is supported by a large section of the Protestant and Catholic populations".

But the Brehon Law Society, in a letter to Mr Lauder, says the UUP has links to the "avowedly anti-Catholic" Orange Order and ask him to reconsider his support for the event.

They say: "As a former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, I am certain that you are attuned to, and opposed to, political organisations that tolerate or promote religious intolerance.

"I must assume you are not aware of the following. 14 per cent of the seats on the Ulster Unionist Council, the governing body of the Ulster Unionist Party, are reserved for members of another organisation, the Orange Order."

David Trimble will attend tonight's fundraiser in New York.