FOR years she was the right hand woman of Alan Sugar, helping him spot diamonds in the rough.
But now Margaret Mountford has thrown her support behind a campaign to educate Catholic and Protestant children together in the North of Ireland.
The Apprentice star and respected lawyer, originally from Co. Down, urged an audience of Irish business leaders to do the same at an event in London.
Speaking at Mansion House, Ms Mountford said she has seen frustration in England at the North’s failure to make progress on contentious issues as major political parties failed to reach an agreement during the Haass talks.
“But there is more going on in Northern Ireland than that,” she added.
“I also have a better view. On a recent visit to an integrated school near Belfast – Hazelwood College – I saw a fantastic image of what the new Northern Ireland can be as young people from different backgrounds and cultures worked together to prepare for the world ahead of them.”
The event, held to celebrate the work of the Integrated Education Fund, was opened by Belfast-born TV journalist Andrea Catherwood.
Ms Mountford told the audience she hoped to inspire them to support integrated schools.
“A helping hand to an integrated school reaches out beyond the classroom walls; a voice raised in support of the campaigners for integrated education cries out for progressive, positive change in the wider Northern Ireland community,” she said.
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