Freddie among the Commons people

Freddie was named in an early day motion in the Houses of Parliament congratulating him on his success.

The motion was put forward by North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds and sponsored by DUP MPs William McCrea, Sammy Wilson, Jim Shannon, David Simpson and Conservative representative Peter Bottomly.

The motion stated: “That this House congratulates Newtownabbey Times photographer Freddie Parkinson on being named Provincial Press Photographer of the Year by the Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association and on his success in winning 1st place in the Provincial Merit Awards.

“And notes that this is his fourth success in the category in as many years and looks forward to Freddie continuing to service the local community in the Newtownabbey area for many years to come.”

Freddie won the Provincial Press Photographer of the Year award for his overall portfolio of work last year and he took the Provincial Merit title for a picture which was taken during the Ardoyne riots in July 2011.

“It is a great honour to be recognised in the House of Commons for my profession and a real achievement for me,” Freddie said.