ONE OF the final episodes of the so-called Irisgate affair has been concluded with an official report which cleared Iris Robinson of any wrongdoing in the awarding of a contract to her former lover Kirk McCambley.
There was no comment on the issue from Ms Robinson or her representatives yesterday but it is understood her solicitors will make a statement on the matter in the coming weeks.
Ms Robinson (61) was a member of Castlereagh Borough Council when a lease to run the Lock Keeper’s Inn by the River Lagan in south Belfast was granted to Kirk McCambley in August 2008.
Castlereagh Council instructed Deloitte to carry out an investigation into the awarding of the contract in January 2010 following a BBC Spotlightprogramme which carried a number of allegations including that Ms Robinson persuaded two businessmen to help finance the venture with a £50,000 loan.
The disclosures, including details about an affair Ms Robinson had with Mr McCambley when he was 19, precipitated a crisis for Ms Robinson and for her First Minister husband Peter.
At one stage his leadership of the DUP, his position as First Minister and his overall political future appeared threatened. While in May last year Mr Robinson lost his East Belfast seat to Naomi Long of Alliance, he did overcome these political travails to hold on to his post as DUP leader and First Minister.
Ms Robinson however stood down as MP and Assembly member for Strangford and also as a Castlereagh councillor. She was placed under psychiatric care and only recently re-emerged into the public eye. It was also revealed that in 2009 Ms Robinson attempted to take her life.
In May this year a preliminary report from Deloitte cleared then councillors of any misconduct in relation to the awarding of the contract to Mr McCambley although there were some loose ends which had to be sorted before it could issue its final report.
These included whether Ms Robinson was in the council chamber on August 28th, 2008, when the lease was formally awarded.
Deloitte, in its final report presented to the council on Thursday night, found that while she attended the meeting on August 28th she was not in the chamber when the contract was awarded.
Overall, Deloitte was instructed to examine if the council suffered any financial loss as a result of Mr McCambley getting the lease; whether there was any impropriety in the awarding of the contract; and whether local government legislation was complied with in the awarding of the lease.
It concluded there was no evidence of the council incurring any financial loss; there was no evidence to suggest any impropriety on behalf of council officers or members; and there was no evidence to suggest that officers or elected representatives did not comply with the requirements in the awarding of the lease.
DUP Assembly member Jimmy Spratt said the report cleared everyone at Castlereagh council of wrongdoing. “There are some however who attempted to advance their own political agenda behind a smokescreen of mud-slinging and rumour-mongering associated with this issue,” he added.
“Those people now have absolutely no basis for their vindictive campaign and their motives are now exposed,” said Mr Spratt, also a Castlereagh councillor.
A spokeswoman for the BBC said it stood by its journalism and believed the Spotlightinvestigation was of "significant public interest" and was "well sourced".
“The BBC conducts its investigations in compliance with strict editorial guidelines. This programme was a piece of responsible journalism and a matter of public importance,” it added.
