Newton Emerson: Northern Ireland stinks of people not quite breaking the law
Project Eagle scandal shines spotlight on the nexus between business and politics
Stormont Parliament buildings: The problem goes beyond everyone knowing everyone else, or of our ‘elites’ being more of a brass ring than a golden circle. File photograph: Paul Faith/PA
I must confess to a provincial thrill at Northern Ireland’s Nama scandal – and I may not be alone. Last week’s BBC Spotlight investigation featured hidden footage of Frank Cushnahan, the fixer at the heart of the controversy. But the programme also featured gorgeous footage of Belfast at its most sunlit and bubble-built, interspersed with shots of big city lawyers, financiers and regulators in London, Washington and New York.
It was as if we had finally graduated from a Ross Kemp documentary to a John Grisham novel – which is progress of a sort, even if Grisham’s novels are always the same old story.