THE ASSEMBLY:ARLENE FOSTER, in her first appearance before the Assembly as interim First Minister, insisted Peter Robinson would clear his name and work would continue on outstanding political issues, principally the stalled devolution of policing and justice.
Ms Foster, surrounded on the DUP front bench by leading members of the party including former leader Ian Paisley, rose to confirm that she had been asked by Mr Robinson to fulfil the functions of his office under a special clause of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 which allows a minister to take up to six weeks’ leave.
“During this period I will be carrying out these functions while the First Minister deals with his wife’s medical problems,” she said. “I have already discussed handling arrangements with the Deputy First Minister and how work of the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister will be carried out in the coming weeks.”
On behalf of Mr Robinson she said he “entirely rejects the sole allegation made by BBC Spotlight and will be seeking to clear his name in the coming weeks”.
On behalf of Sinn Féin, Carál Ní Chuilín assured the speaker she would not refer to the Robinsons’ personal problems but asked Ms Foster for “a transparent and robust response” to questions from Assembly members and the public at large about the prospects of political progress on what she called “outstanding issues”.
Ms Foster said initial findings from the Departmental Solicitors’ Office suggested that Mr Robinson did nothing wrong in relation to alleged failures to disclose details about his wife’s financial dealings and that a fuller inquiry would find Mr Robinson had acted properly.
“The Departmental Solicitors’ Office has already considered the allegations made in the Spotlight programme and has advised Mr Robinson that he was not in breach of the Ministerial Code, the Pledge of Office, the Ministerial Code of Conduct or the seven Principles of Public Life,” she said.
She told the House: “The First Minister has written to the committees of standards and privileges in both Westminster and the Assembly to ask them to conduct a full investigation into the allegation made by BBC Spotlight.
“The process that the First Minister has asked to be initiated involving senior counsel is not intended to be an alternative to other processes that may, and undoubtedly will, be carried out.
“The First Minister does very much believe that there needs to be an early indication given in relation to the [BBC] allegation.”
Ms Foster insisted: “I’m personally confident, my party is personally confident, that this will confirm that Peter Robinson, the First Minister, acted entirely properly at all times. Let’s have that [investigation] and let’s have it quickly.”
She said she agreed with the Sinn Féin question that there was a “need to move on”.
“This is all a distraction for the people of Northern Ireland,” she said, adding it was more important to address the first item on the Assembly order of business which was the dissident bomb attack on a PSNI officer in Co Antrim last Friday.
Shortly after the Assembly business closed the committee on standards and privileges confirmed it had received correspondence directly from Mr Robinson requesting that the it begin an inquiry into the questions that have been raised about his conduct.
Committee chairman Declan O’Loan said in a statement: “It is clearly in the public interest that an official investigation is carried out in order to establish the full facts in relation to the issues raised in the BBC’s recent Spotlight programme.
“The committee on standards and privileges has therefore today instructed the Assembly’s commissioner for standards to carry out a thorough independent investigation into the conduct of Mrs Iris Robinson MLA and Mr Peter Robinson MLA in order to enable the committee on standards and privileges to determine whether or not any breaches of the Assembly’s code have occurred.”