Mediation talks to take place between PSNI and families of Collusion victims

Connla Young, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

A SERIES of planned settlement discussions between the PSNI and relatives of suspected collusion victims will take place after sideroom talks involving senior police officials and legal teams.

It emerged at Belfast High Court yesterday that the PSNI is to enter discussions about the sectarian murder of five Catholics at the centre of ongoing civil cases.

These include the murder of Charlie Fox (63) and his wife Tess (53), who were gunned down in their home, near Moy in Co Tyrone, in September 1992.

Eight months earlier, their son-in-law Kevin McKearney (32), who was married to their daughter Bernie, and his uncle Jack McKearney (70), died after a gun attack at a family-run butcher’s shop in Moy.

Civil proceedings have also been brought over the murder of mother-of-three Elizabeth McDonald (38) in a car bomb explosion at the Step Inn Bar in Keady, Co Armagh back in August 1976.

That attack was carried out by the Glenanne Gang, which included members of the RUC, UDR and UVF.

All three incidents are thought to involve security force collusion.

Inquest stalled

In April last year, a coroner abandoned an inquest into the Fox and McKearney killings after the Northern Ireland Office and MI5 objected to intelligence linked to the case being made public.

There are currently around 1,100 civil legal cases linked to the Troubles and it is expected some of those will also be the focus settlement discussion between the PSNI and legal teams in the coming months.

Collusion settlement talks due to take place

The latest development comes after backroom meetings between some legal representatives and PSNI officials earlier this year.

Some of the sit-downs took place at the PSNI’s Knock headquarters in east Belfast.

It is understood the meetings were arranged at the request of police and involved senior officials from legal services and the PSNI’s legacy branch.

It is believed discussions focused on matters where progress could be made, including the Fox, McKearney and McDonald cases.

It is understood the meetings were arranged at the request of police and involved senior officials from legal services and the PSNI’s legacy branch.

Significant departure

The move to deal directly with legacy cases is being viewed by some as a significant departure from the traditional approach adopted by the PSNI.

In the past the force has been accused of attempting to delay legal processes, with some inquests facing decades long delays.

Gavin Booth, of Phoenix Law, says his firm has engaged directly with the PSNI on behalf of clients.

The Belfast based lawyer represents the represents the families of all five victims.

“These cases have for too long been before the courts without any meaningful engagement and now we see an attitude of change that will hopefully bring resolution to those legacy cases once and for all,” he said.

Speaking at the Policing Board in May, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the “de facto position of the security forces has been one of protectionism”, which he claimed to “entirely understand”.

“But as time has passed and we have matured I think we should have changed that stance and we should have started to reach out and if we all, and this is something I have said repeatedly, give a little we will probably find that we’re pretty much in the same space,” he said.

“So, I think it’s predominantly cultural but it’s not been helped by the fact there’s never been a proper sit down with all of the different organisations.

Potential game changer

“By the way, the approach we seem to have taken in the past is that the lawyers for the security agencies, including the government, influence the shape of how we deal with legacy.

“It doesn’t take rocket science to see the flaws of that approach and how that might not be welcome by people who are impacted by legacy, people who lost lives, lost limbs, lost their futures, lost their families.”

Mr Boutcher also spoke of a lack of cash to “deal with these issues”.

“The can repeatedly gets kicked down the road and that’s got to stop, that’s unacceptable, and it’s having the most adverse impact on the PSNI as far as trust and confidence is concerned,” he said.

The chief constable added that there had been “very positive conversations with law firms who represent families” adding there are “more conversations to have”.

“Because there’s no monopoly on good ideas on this side of the table, they will have some good ideas, how to deal with these cases,” he said.

“We have got to cut out, from a PSNI perspective, the bureaucracy of the legal frameworks that take years and years to resolve, which is public money and its public money that can be spent far more wisely in Northern Ireland, on policing on public services.”

‘We’re not wanted by Britain’

DUP founding member Wallace Thompson speaks to Denzil McDaniel about Paisley, Protestantism and what made him change his mind on a ‘new Ireland’

Irish News, June 21st, 2025

WALLACE Thompson admits that as a 15-yearold, he “rejoiced in the police action in nationalists being dealt with” at the infamous October 1968 civil rights march in Derry.

By 1974, at Queen’s University, he was “an ardent supporter” of the Ulster Workers Council strike along with fellow students Jim Allister, Sammy Wilson and Jim Wells, believing the very existence of his Protestant heritage was under threat.

Thompson’s “fascination with Ian Paisley” in the late 1960s led to a long involvement with the DUP, including as a special advisor to Nigel Dodds while a minister in Stormont as well as working closely with Peter Robinson and other leading figures at the centre of the party.

But he now talks openly about the inevitability of a ‘new Ireland’, says he thinks Protestants could have “greater clout” in it, and adds: “The whole landscape has changed. We’re not wanted by Britain; we’re strangers in our own land.

“Why do we have to be demeaned like this rather than saying look, hold on, I’m an Irish Protestant and I’ve as much right to be respected as anybody else.”

He feels “more and more Irish and less British these days”, although he’s first and foremost a Protestant and believes he could retain his British identity while not living in the United Kingdom.

His belief that unionists should engage in the conversation about possible change has brought the ire of some of his erstwhile colleagues, who’ve called him a Lundy.

“I’ve called people a Lundy in the past,” he smiles.

“One person suggested my autobiography should be called ‘The journey of a demented turncoat’. People thought I’d taken leave of my senses, it must be old age.”

He adds: “A kinder interpretation was that this man has lost his marbles, as he’s got older he’s forgotten.

“I haven’t forgotten anything about what happened before, that I once held different views.”

Indeed, throughout our interview, Wallace Thompson shows good humour, grace, openness and a sharp intellect in articulating his changed position.

Brexit and Boris’s betrayal

“We began to realise that [Brexit] was not that simple, but then came Boris’s betrayal. I began to think of the past and it was betrayal after betrayal. Every time unionism was on the back foot, we lost ground by crying ‘not an inch’

Before, it was a case of politics and spiritual matters being intertwined.

“It’s a reflection not only of my mindset but of those particular times when your Protestant faith and your unionism were bound up because they were two sides of the same coin. Protestantism was the raison d’etre behind separating off from the rest of Ireland. 

“It was a package and Ian Paisley encapsulated both elements of that cause,” says Thompson, who adds: “In those days the heat was on, you were under threat. The world was crashing down around us.”

With the 1960s moving towards ecumenism, the onset of the Troubles brought further fear for people like him that Protestantism was under attack.

“Ian Paisley’s utterances seemed to reflect that worry, that panic.”

And yet when Thompson got to know the outwardly “robust and rumbustious” Paisley, the man he knew was “full of humour, full of personality, there was a very considerable warmth”.

Paisleyism was then viewed as virtually a cult by establishment unionism.

“We were seen as weird, awkward, narrow-minded. The mavericks, the outsiders. But we rejoiced in it. Being younger, we all thought it was great craic.

“My Granda Thompson, a working-class man from Ballymoney who wore a wee flat cap, was an anti-establishment figure but I remember him saying to me, ‘Son, don’t follow Paisley’.”

From those early days, the time eventually came for the Paisley the maverick to become the establishment figure when he entered power-sharing with Sinn Féin, the party he once promised to smash, and the feeling among many was that he cynically went into government for the personal glory of being first minister.

Thompson says: “In fairness to the man, he may have had his own desires to be remembered in that way. But I think there was a genuineness about it that came across in his work with Martin McGuinness. It wasn’t all for the optics, it was substantial.

“I just wish it had come five or 10 years earlier when he was more ‘at himself’, as we say. Like they said about William Gladstone, he was an old man in a hurry, but I wouldn’t criticise him for that.”

Despite warnings of “a battle a day” with Sinn Féin, Thompson says he never saw that and while it was a big moment having to work face to face with people who had served prison sentences, he found it “enriching”.

But from his early “no surrender” days, what was the catalyst for the huge change in Wallace Thompson’s stance on a united or ‘new’ Ireland?

“Boris Johnson’s nonsense on the Irish Sea border,” he says firmly.

The then prime minister famously assured the DUP conference he would stand by the union, before abandoning the party to strike a deal with the EU.

“Brexit had been a big factor. Friends in Fermanagh were more aware of the complexities and voted to remain, but we were foolish in believing we could achieve a total break easily. We began to realise that it was not that simple, but then came Boris’s betrayal.

Boris Johnson was guest speaker at the DUP annual conference in 2018 where he famously assured the party he would stand by the union, before abandoning them to strike a deal with the EU

“I began to think of the past and it was betrayal after betrayal. Every time unionism was on the back foot, we lost ground by crying ‘not an inch’.

Lost opportunities

“Down through the hundred years of Northern Ireland we kept losing ground. The 1974 strike and Sunningdale, with the violence being so severe in 1972 and ‘73, all seemed a bridge too far in the heat of battle.

“We said we can’t compromise, but perhaps that was an opportunity that should have been taken. Then we opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 and lost seats, and we opposed the 1998 Belfast Agreement. Then had to accept the principles of it were going to be the foundation of whatever we did,” he says.

“Every time we said no surrender, not an inch, while losing inches. The final straw was this nonsense from Boris.

“Plus,” he says, “the changing face of religion within the British Isles.

“The Republic is no longer a Catholic country. Britain has lost its Protestantism, and the empire, which our forefathers fought for, is gone. It was said that Protestantism was the cement that held the empire together. That has crumbled and the whole thing has fallen apart.

“The whole landscape has changed. We’re not wanted by Britain. The illustration is the unwanted child in the house. If you moved into a different house, there would be those who would question our being there and want to put us in our place. But I think the majority would welcome us.

“I’ve been brought up to be British but I’m feeling more and more Irish in one sense. I’m an Ulsterman, an Irishman and a British citizen and I’m not quite sure at the sequence. First and foremost, I’m a Protestant, that’s the main one.”

He said unionists in a Dáil chamber would make up a much bigger minority than at Westminster where “you’re hardly even noticed”.

Ian Paisley agreed to share power with Martin McGuinness and Sinn Féin, with the pair becoming known as the ‘chuckle brothers’

Republic ‘no longer a Catholic country’

“The Republic is no longer a Catholic country. Britain has lost its Protestantism, and the empire, which our forefathers fought for, is gone. It was said that Protestantism was the cement that held the empire together. That has crumbled and the whole thing has fallen apart

Wallace Thompson

“I wonder would we not have more direct clout in an Irish setup, however it’s done, whether it’s devolved through the regions or unitary state.

“People say that’s all very well but once they get you in there’s no guarantee, you could end up in very difficult territory.

“I’ve moved considerably on this. I’m at a tipping point.”

So, it’s time for a conversation, and he feels that refusing to talk about change is “unionism all over. Events may overtake them and it just comes in on them like a tsunami”.

“There’s an inevitability that some sort of constitutional change will take place. When, I don’t know. It is some way down the road, but we need to discuss it, we need to prepare for the possibility of it. We need to talk within our own groups,” he says, referring to within unionism and within nationalism.

He accepts that the word “inevitable” caused some difficulty, but there is a trajectory of travel and getting involved in the discussion is a way of changing the destination.

“I don’t see that conversation taking place. The southern government is not showing much direct interest beyond broad principles. The only ones pushing for it are Sinn Féin and we don’t know what version of change they want to achieve. Other nationalists and unionists need to be involved.

“There needs to be internal discussion and then a reaching out. We need to achieve some form of reconciliation within Northern Ireland first,” says Thompson, who says a lot of people tell him privately that he’s right in what he’s saying, including “surprising sources at times”.

“It’s a challenge but a positive challenge. There has to be a discussion at all these various levels.”

Throughout his political and religious life, it’s been clear that Wallace Thompson has never been afraid to stand out from the crowd if he believes in a principle.

He adds: “It’s been a very challenging thing for me, and yet I’m actually quite enjoying the journey.”

‘I’m opposed to Catholicism, but sectarianism is motivated by hate’

Denzil McDaniel, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

NO CHRISTIAN could condone the “nastiness of sectarianism”; indeed, they should condemn it, says Wallace Thompson, who has followed his Reformed Protestant faith since his teens.

The long-standing member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Caleb Foundation and the Evangelical Protestant Society admits that he remains opposed to Catholicism, but insists: “The point has to be made over and over again that my differences with Catholics are totally theological.

“Like the recent racism, sectarianism is motivated by hatred with no understanding of theological difference,” he says.

“My position on Catholicism is that I’m solidly opposed to it, but I recognise there are nuances and variations. But if we shout at each other on issues over the ramparts we’re never going to get any understanding of each other.”

Born in Ballymoney in the 1950s, Wallace Thompson’s working-class family had a traditional Church of Ireland upbringing. But as a teenager in the 1960s he became an evangelical Christian when attending the local Free Presbyterian Church.

“I heard the gospel message and was challenged as to my own standing before God and came to know Christ as Saviour through the preaching in that church. So, I owe them a lot.”

After spells in the Free Presbyterian Church and the Irish Presbyterian congregation, Thompson settled in Knock Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1984 and has felt “at home” since then.

The EPC is a small denomination with about eight or nine churches and Wallace Thompson describes them as holding a “reformed position rather than fundamentalist”.

The church was formed in 1927 after objections to the liberal teaching and what was regarded to be heretical teaching in the main Presbyterian College.

Changing dialogue

Thompson admits some of the language deemed acceptable in the past now seems extreme.

“In the 1950s and ‘60s, previous to my involvement, there was the ecumenical movement and what was seen as the drift towards Rome. When the Troubles broke out it was seen as a further attack on the Protestant faith,” he says.

“It often came over as anti-Catholic. Looking back, to be honest, it was pretty severe stuff.

“That’s radically changed, in my mind as well,” he says, and he believes his small church is “kindly regarded as it holds firm to the Reformed faith but never seeks to confront or antagonise in a nasty way”.

Thompson has no time for Protestants who “just attack the taigs and sing sectarian songs” and says: “There is a massive difference between that and theological differences discussed in a respectful manner.

“I’ve realised that as I’ve got older,” he says, pointing out that he’s friendly with a Catholic priest and debates issues with him in a spirit of mutual understanding.

Thompson is chairman of the Caleb Foundation, and says: “While we have a reputation for being hardline, we’re not a firebrand organisation”, and points out that Caleb and the Evangelical Protestant Society campaign on “Lord’s Day issues” such as Sunday sport, and also BBC coverage of moral, ethical and spiritual issues from an evangelical perspective.

Ireland’s rich history shows we are a nation of immigrants

Patrick Murphy, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

THERE is something wonderfully ironic in the fact that those who were protesting and rioting against immigrants here are themselves largely descendants of immigrants who first arrived in this country about 400 years ago.

One grievance is that these new arrivals do not integrate into society here, an interesting prejudice since loyalists have refused for four centuries to integrate into Irish society.

Indeed, many of them regard Irish, the language of the land into which they arrived, as a foreign language. They even claim that they do not actually live in Ireland, but in an extension of Britain.

No recent immigrants argue that their arrival here means that this part of Ireland belongs to Romania, the Philippines, Nigeria, Brazil or Poland. Many of them speak more than one language and thus have no difficulty with the concept of a multi-lingual society.

Of course, those who were here before the Ulster Plantation were also immigrants.

The first settlers arrived about 10,000 years ago (landing in north Antrim, where anti-immigrant sentiment is strong), and the Celts did not arrive until about 3,000 years ago. Even the Irish are immigrants.

Then there were successive immigrant waves in the form of the Vikings, the Anglo-Normans and the English.

Welcome to Ireland, the immigrant isle.

Resistance to immigration is most common when the immigrants are seen as depriving the existing population of scarce resources and/ or challenging the prevailing culture.

The Ulster Plantation, for example, effectively changed land ownership from native to settler and that resulted in the 1641 rebellion.

It consisted largely of attacks by the Irish on heavily-defended settler towns. In that respect it was remarkably similar to the recent Provisional IRA campaign, which was aimed at destroying urban areas in a bombing campaign on the basis of “Brits Out”.

Was that racism, or just perfectly acceptable patriotism?

In Ireland, as in Britain, there is an element of racism in anti-immigrant protests, but in many cases that racism is fuelled by deprivation. That does not make it right, but it helps to explain it.

If you have been on a hospital waiting list for four years, or if you can’t get a house or even a GP appointment, you will feel aggrieved.

The problem lies with Stormont’s failure to adequately provide health and social services.

However, since our education system is geared towards keeping two-thirds of the population in relative ignorance, the anger and frustration is aimed not at Stormont, but at the immigrants down the street.

Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin houses the tomb of Strongbow, Richard de Clare, who played a key role in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century.“

Is Sinn Féin really saying that it is offensive to celebrate the ancestors of those people who have made a significant contribution to modern Ireland?

It is slightly different in the more politically sophisticated south where, as well as blaming immigrants, the protesters also blame the government. Oddly, they also blame Sinn Féin, who are not in government.

What did Normans ever do for Ireland?

Sinn Féin bear no responsibility for immigration in the south, but they recently had an interesting approach to historical immigration.

The party heavily criticised a cultural initiative called the European Year of the Normans which the Dublin government supports.

The Normans came from Normandy in France (although they too were the descendants of Vikings who had earlier settled there).

Sinn Féin has described the initiative as “offensive” since it is based on the 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror (who never came to Ireland).

The Normans invaded England in 1066 and a century later, as Anglo-Normans, they invaded Ireland. So what have the Anglo-Normans done for us? Nothing but oppression, says Sinn Féin.

However, the invaders had no difficulty in inter-marrying with the Irish and adopting many Gaelic traditions. Within a few hundred years, it was their descendants who were leading the resistance to the British crown (unlike modern-day unionists). The invaders became settlers.

So apart from introducing castles, counties, towns, organising anti-British resistance and abolishing slavery, what have the Anglo-Normans ever done for us?

Their influence lives on today in the many Anglo-Norman words is the Irish language (‘caisleán’, ‘cófra’, ‘contae’ and ‘cóta’ for example). And, of course, there are many Anglo-Norman surnames still in use here.

The GAA was founded by a man with an Anglo-Norman surname, Michael Cusack, and Kilkenny hurling today is heavily populated with Anglo-Norman descendants: Blanchfield, Tyrell, Cody and Comerford.

Even among the ranks of Sinn Féin we have, for example in Stormont, the surnames Baker, Dillon and Kimmins, and, of course, Adams was one of the earliest Anglo-Norman names in Ireland.

Is Sinn Féin really saying that it is offensive to celebrate the ancestors of those people who have made a significant contribution to modern Ireland?

You see, we are all immigrants. We just need a greater understanding of history to appreciate that.

With Bible in one hand and bomb in the other, Provo priest Patrick Ryan 

Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, June 21st, 2025

UNREPENTANT CLERIC LINKED TO ATROCITIES INCLUDING HYDE PARK AND BRIGHTON

The hands of a Catholic priest who died this week were blood-stained by some of the most notorious atrocities of the Troubles, including the murder of three off-duty British Army soldiers in the Netherlands, the Brighton bomb and the 1982 Hyde Park bombing.

But right until the end, Fr Patrick Ryan remained unrepentant about raising money for - and supplying arms to - the Provisional IRA.

In fact, the shameful cleric's only regret in this life, which spanned 95 years, was that he “wasn't more effective” in his sinister activities.

At his funeral in Co Tipperary this week, where a Bible was placed on his coffin, there was mention of his rural upbringing, his GAA skills and missionary work in Tanzania.

But no mention was made of his years of barbaric terrorism and faithfulness to the republican cause.

That rural upbringing in Co Tipperary saw Fr Ryan dubbed 'the Padre' in IRA circles because, while he posed as a man of the cloth in public, behind closed doors Fr Ryan was the Provos' man in Europe.

The son of a republican mother who was a fierce supporter of nationalists during the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence, his life was shaped growing up under her care in rural Ireland.

Mary-Anne instilled a deep nationalism within her six children and young Paddy's devotion to her ran deep.

By 1954 Ryan had been ordained into the Pallottine order and with Ireland at bursting point when it came to clergy numbers, the 24-year-old was dispatched to Tanzania in East Africa to work as a missionary. He was back in Ireland by 1969.

Return in 1969 ‘reignited fierce nationalism’

The timing of his return reignited the fierce nationalism within and the cleric found himself increasingly drawn to newspaper stands where reports of shootings and gun battles in Belfast were splashed across the front pages.

When approached by some of the IRA leaders to see if he could work for them, Fr Ryan wasted little time and for the next two decades he evaded intelligence agencies by staying one step ahead of them.

Initially, Fr Ryan's official duties in Ireland involved driving around the country to collect donations from mission boxes for his Pallottine order.

But instead of handing the money to the Catholic Church, the Provo priest started to give it to people who could pass it to the republican movement in Northern Ireland.

Although he never officially joined the IRA, his devotion to his new masters was well known.

Return to Africa

Towards the end of 1969 Gaddafi's coup saw the dictator take control of Libya — and with Fr Ryan's priestly robes lending credence to the cause of Irish nationalism, he was sent to the North African state to begin negotiating arms deals and tapping into the oil-rich terrorist funds at the disposal of one of the most dangerous and violent regimes in the world.

Fr Ryan's efforts saw a steady supply of Semtex explosives roll into IRA hands.

A web of contacts across Europe pulled in further funds. Still, under the guise of the priesthood, he based himself in the Spanish holiday resort of Benidorm, where the people in the town were constantly changing, meaning his presence would be virtually unnoticed.

It was in 1975 while on a visit to Switzerland, where Fr Ryan held bank accounts, that one of his most deadly interventions took shape.

In a nation famed for its love of time-keeping, the cunning cleric walked past a clock shop and spotted a memo park timer, a device commonly used by motorists to alert them when a car parking meter was about to expire.

More deadly timers

Fr Ryan was aware of issues with some IRA bombs that detonated prematurely so he bought one and re-engineered it to make a more reliable detonation timer — he then bought hundreds and sent them, along with his prototype, back to Ireland.

He sourced ever more effective micro-timers from Libyan contacts.

As the device became more sophisticated, and more deadly, memo park timers became a hallmark feature of IRA bombs.

Fragments were found in the 1979 Warrenpoint attack that killed 18 soldiers. It was involved in the July 1982 Hyde Park bomb which claimed 11 lives.

And in 1984, the IRA took the attack directly to the door of Margaret Thatcher.

Grand Hotel and a hunger strike

A bomb planted under a bath in a room at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where the Conservative Party were holding their annual conference, was timed to go off late at night when members of Thatcher's government were in their beds.

Five people were killed in the attack and Fr Ryan's activities were now being noticed by British intelligence.

In 1988 it looked like his luck had run out when, acting on a tip-off, Belgian police found Fr Ryan at an apartment in Brussels.

Bomb-making equipment, manuals, and a large sum of foreign currency were seized.

The clergyman was arrested but then a dispute erupted between the UK, Belgium and Ireland and Fr Ryan went on hunger strike to protest against extradition to the UK.

He was eventually sent back to Ireland and attempts to have him extradited to face charges in the UK failed with the Charles Haughey-led Irish Government saying he could not be guaranteed a fair trial, despite Thatcher's protestations that the Republic was harbouring “a very dangerous man”. Undeterred by the publicity, Fr Ryan was the first Irish priest to stand for election when he contested the 1989 European elections.

His campaign posters displayed him wearing his priestly collar. He was unsuccessful, but still managed to get more than 30,000 votes.

It was only a year later, in 1990, that he was formally dismissed from the Pallottine order and defrocked.

In BBC’s Spotlight

Fr Ryan disappeared into the background but resurfaced when he spoke to the BBC programme Spotlight on the Troubles in 2019 when he was turning 90.

“I would have liked to have been much more effective, but we didn't do too badly,” he said.

Able to acknowledge that Mrs Thatcher was “right” in her description of him, the disgraced cleric never faced any terrorism charges and at no time did he show remorse.

Reacting to Fr Ryan's passing, victims group South East Fermanagh Foundation said its members “take glee in the death of no one”.

“However, we and many others grieve the way this man chose to live. His legacy is not of Christian faith but of being wedded to terrorism, motivated by ethnic and sectarian hatred,” it added.

“He has escaped justice in this life — however his next judge will not be fooled by crafty legal arguments, or contextual excuses for behaviours.”

Standards Commissioner probe minister’s online comments after racist attack on Larne Leisure Centre

CONOR COYLE, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

A STANDARDS watchdog at the Northern Ireland Assembly has commenced a formal investigation into comments posted online by DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons during racist disorder last week.

There had been calls for the minister to resign after a social media post in which he identified that a number of immigrants had been moved to Larne leisure centre by the Housing Executive at a time when homes were being attacked in Ballymena.

The leisure centre was later vandalised and set on fire.

Mr Lyons and the DUP have both said he has no intention of resigning and that he is the victim of a “political pile on” over the comments.

However, after a number of complaints were received by the Assembly Standards Commissioner Melissa McCullough, she has now begun an investigation after deeming the complaints admissible.

Complaints can be submitted by other MLAs or members of the public, with SDLP opposition leader Matthew O’Toole one of those who publicly stated they had submitted a complaint against the minister. Mr Lyons and the complainants were made aware of the decision to proceed to an investigation on Friday.

Once concluded the investigation report will be sent to the Assembly’s Standards and Privileges Committee to decide on what, if any, sanctions to impose.

The Assembly Commission and the Department for Communities have both been contacted for comment.

Mr Lyons wrote on Facebook last Wednesday: “As a local MLA for the area, neither I nor my DUP council colleagues were made aware or consulted on this decision until late this afternoon.”

He added: “It has now been confirmed to us by the PSNI and council that all these individuals are in the care of the Housing Executive and have been moved out of Larne.

“Protesting is of course a legitimate right but violence is not and I would encourage everyone to remain peaceful.”

A fire later broke out at the centre following vandalism at the facility on the third night of disorder.

Masked individuals smashed windows at the leisure centre in Co Antrim on Wednesday and set fires outside which spread inside.

Varadkar: ‘50 plus one’ in border poll is ‘enough’ for reunification

Mark Robinson, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

FORMER Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that a ‘50 plus one’ threshold in a border poll is ‘enough’ for reunification but added that those seeking a United Ireland should aspire for more.

Mr Varadkar attended an event at St Mary’s University College in west Belfast yesterday, hosted by Féile an Phobail and Ireland’s Future.

In a conversation with Rev Karen Sethuraman from Ireland’s Future, the former politician discussed what he sees a United Ireland looking like.

His appearance in Belfast comes after he recently told the BBC that the possibility of Nigel Farage becoming UK Prime Minister would move the issue of Irish unity to “central stage” and could sway those in the middle ground.

Mr Varadkar has previously highlighted the importance of reaching out to those who could be open to the idea of a United Ireland.

While in office as both Taoiseach and Tánaiste, he has also previously stated that a simple majority of ‘50 plus one’ would not be a desirable outcome, drawing anger from nationalist parties.

Speaking to The Irish News following the event, Mr Varadkar said that his ‘clear’ view was that a ‘50 plus one’ majority is “enough”.

“A majority is a majority, but I don’t think that’s what we should aspire to.

“We should aspire to maximum consent – as large a majority as possible both south of the border and north of the border.

“I think that’s why, in particular, we need to appeal to the middle ground, people who don’t comfortably describe themselves as being nationalist or unionist or being of any one particular community but just want to do what’s best for their kids and grandkids.”

Supports votes for Emigrants

“We need to appeal to the middle ground, people who don’t comfortably describe themselves as nationalist or unionist or being of any one particular community but just want to do what’s best for their kids and grandkids

During yesterday’s engagement, Mr Varadkar was quizzed by the audience on issues including housing and cost of living and what that would look like in a United Ireland. He also said that he hoped that Irish citizens around the world, including those in the north, would be able to vote in the next presidential election in seven years’ time.

The former Taoiseach also stated that he would not be in favour of a federal system in a reunified Ireland but would prefer more powers transferred to local government.

He also said that he was didn’t think loyalist violence in a United Ireland would happen, but did note that a small number of people in the south had expressed concerns to him over the issue.

Among those attending the event on Friday was former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.

He told The Irish News that he “welcomed very much” that Mr Varadkar had visited west Belfast and that he gave “thoughtful responses” to the questions posed to him.

United Ireland plan cannot be to just 'annex counties' - Varadkar

Rebecca Black, Irish Independent, June 21st, 2025

FORMER TAOISEACH BELIEVES VIOLENT OPPISITION FROM UNIOINISTS UNLIKELY

A united Ireland should not be an ­"annexation of six more counties” but a new state "that can be better for all of us”, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

Mr Varadkar also said he hopes the current Government takes the decision to establish a forum to lead discussions on unity, and also appeared to dismiss concerns of potential loyalist violence in reaction to a united Ireland.

Mr Varadkar, who stood down as taoiseach in April last year, said he believes he will see a united Ireland in his lifetime, but said it is not inevitable.

He said he has had no regrets so far since leaving elected politics, and is enjoying both "a lot of personal and intellectual freedom to say what I think”.

He was speaking at an In Conversation event with Rev Karen Sethuraman at St Mary's University college in west Belfast, hosted by Féile an Phobail and Ireland's Future.

Former Sinn Féin president and West Belfast MP Gerry Adams was among those in the audience for the event.

Mr Varadkar said a united Ireland "has to be a new Ireland that is better for everyone”.

"That includes a bill of rights, guarantees civil protections and liberties,” he said.

"Unification, in my view, is not the annexation of six more counties by the Republic of Ireland. It's a new state and one that can be better for all of us, an opportunity that only comes around every 100 years, which is to design your state and design your constitution.”

In terms of what the current Government is doing, Mr Varadkar described the Shared Island Unit, which was set up when he was taoiseach, as really positive.

Calls on Irish Govt to set up Unity Forum

But he said he would like to see the Government lead a forum ahead of unity.

He said there was the New Ireland Forum in the 1980s, and the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in the 1990s.

"I think there is a strong case now for us to convene the parties that are interested in talking about this - unions, business groups, civil society - in a forum to have that discussion,” he said.

"But I don't see how that can happen if that isn't led by the Irish Government, and I hope at some point during the course of this five-year Government, a decision will be taken to do that.”

Asked how he felt potential violent opposition to a united Ireland could be handled, Mr Varadkar suggested he felt "only a very small minority may turn to violence”.

"I know there are people south of the border who, when I talk to them about reunification, express to me concerns that there might be a very small minority within unionism who may turn to violence,” he said. "I don't think we should dismiss that as a possibility. I don't think it will happen, to be honest.

"In two referendums, both north and south, people would be very clearly giving their preference as to what should happen - it would be quite a different situation to when partition happened 100 years ago and it wasn't voted for.”

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly suggested Mr Varadkar was "wrong in terms of the trajectory” towards a united Ireland, insisting the number of people voting for nationalist parties, around 40pc, "hasn't moved since 1998”.

Mr Varadkar said he was in politics long enough to not respond to someone else's comments without hearing them in full, but said the case he is making is not just based on the percentage of people who vote for nationalist parties, adding it is clear the percentage voting for unionist parties has fallen.

O’Neill ‘not ruling out’ a run for president

Cate McCurry, Irish News and Irish Independent, June 21st, 2025

FIRST Minister Michelle O’Neill has not ruled out a run in the Irish presidential election. Asked if she was considering putting her name forward, Ms O’Neill said Sinn Féin is working its way through deliberations on selecting a candidate.

Speaking at the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Armagh, Ms O’Neill said she has plenty to do as first minister but she did not rule herself out as a candidate.

The election for the next president is expected to take place in October.

When asked if she would put her name forward as a candidate, Ms O’Neill said: “I am…. working our way through our deliberations as we speak.”

An election to replace President Michael D Higgins is expected for October

She also called for voting rights in presidential elections to be extended to Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland.

“Just to say we obviously also haven’t concluded our own deliberations in terms of the presidential race itself,” she added.

“I think I’ve plenty to do being first minister, but I think that the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can’t vote in that election.

“So that’s where there’s a deficit and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the north, so that Irish citizens in the North can vote for their Uachtarán.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he is not aware of any engagement with former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood over becoming the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency.

Eastwood bid for Áras?

It has been reported that Mr Eastwood is considering a bid for Áras an Uachtaráin.

Asked to confirm if Mr Eastwood had been approached by the Fianna Fáil party, Mr Martin challenged the basis for the question, adding: “There’s been no contact with me, there’s been no engagement that I am aware of from the Fianna Fáil party and it hasn’t been on the agenda at all.”

Mr Martin said he was “surprised” to hear Mr Eastwood was considering a run but said “it’s open to everybody to put themselves forward”.

He said Mr Eastwood was a “very effective parliamentarian” but Fianna Fáil had not concluded on deliberations “at all”.

“ I am…. working our way through our deliberations as we speak. The fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can’t vote in that election

“We will make our choices as a party, and we haven’t concluded deliberations at all,” he added.

“As you can see from recent commentary, and I think from previous experiences and previous presidential elections, there seems to be a tendency that later in the summer might be a more optimal time to be announcing candidates than earlier in the summer.

“That’s where we are and we haven’t made any decisions.”

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said that a head of state already exists in the north.

“I don’t have any opinion on a particular candidate, but all I can say is, like we live in a world where there’s a constitutional reality and there’s a constitutional aspiration, and that’s set out very clearly in the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement and the mechanisms around that,” she added.

“We have a head of state here in Northern Ireland, we are a full part of the United Kingdom, until such times as the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic both to decide otherwise.

“So that’s why it doesn’t apply in NI. I am supportive of the continuum of the current situation and the equilibrium and balance that was carefully negotiated and endorsed by people of Northern Ireland in the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement.”

Call for urgent legislative reform to protect legal professionals after rise in abuse

Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, June 21st, 2025

LAW SOCIETY WANTS SOLICITORS TO HAVE SAME PROTECTION AS FRONTLINE WORKERS

Legal professionals should be treated as frontline workers, with judges handed tougher powers when sentencing anyone convicted of attacking or harassing them over their work, a new campaign will argue.

It is being pushed by The Law Society in response to a growing number of attacks.

A Group on Solicitor Safety has been set up and has requested meetings with Justice Minister Naomi Long and Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

The group held its first meetings earlier this month and includes solicitors who have experienced direct threats or abuse through their work.

One of those in the group is Belfast-based solicitor Emma Lyons.

Earlier this year, Kevin Kennedy was given a suspended sentence for a campaign of harassment against Ms Lyons.

Kennedy (37) was convicted at Belfast Magistrates' Court in March 2024 of harassing the lawyer on dates between July 2022 and February 2023.

He appealed to Belfast County Court, which last month upheld his conviction and imposed a suspended sentence and a restraining order.

Seeking meeting with Minister

The Law Society said it has written to Mrs Long requesting urgent legislative reform to better protect legal professionals.

It has called for solicitors to be formally recognised as frontline workers in the upcoming Sentencing Bill, making attacks and harassment against lawyers in the course of their professional duties a statutory aggravating factor.

This would allow judges to hand out harsher sentences in such cases.

Sinead Larkin of Larkin Cassidy Solicitors has specialised in family law for almost three decades. She said the problem has heightened in “an increasingly angry society”.

“The person and indeed family members struggle to distinguish the lawyer from the client, that becomes problematic and that is when we are targeted.

“That's how we then fall foul of abuse. We become subject to verbal abuse and threats, or people will spread negative or disparaging lies about you or make vexatious complaints.”

Security measures installed by law firms

Ms Larkin said she has had to install security measures at her north Belfast law firm to protect her staff.

On one occasion, she was told she would need to “watch her back” for representing a client in family litigation.

“That's probably at the lower level, but still distressing,” she said. “I am acting in a professional capacity, I am representing my client, but I am not the client.

“Emma Lyons' case was the extreme, but we've all experienced verbal abuse.”

Law Society chief executive David Lavery said: “Recognising solicitors as frontline workers is not just symbolic — it is a necessary step to ensure they can undertake their professional duties without fear for their personal safety.

“It would also affirm the principle that no solicitor should be forced to choose between representing a client and safeguarding their family.”

Colin Mitchell, president of the Law Society, said: “No solicitor should feel unsafe doing their job.

“Harassment and intimidation have no place in our justice system, and the Law Society has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to any such behaviour directed at our members.

“This is not only a matter of professional safety, but also an access to justice issue.”

In Ms Lyons' case, the judge recognised she had been subjected to harassment and was targeted specifically for “undertaking her duties” as a solicitor, yet the perpetrator received only a suspended sentence.

That reflects how judges are bound by sentencing guidelines.

Unduly lenient sentences

The Law Society is also proposing that unduly lenient sentences in lower courts should be open to review on application of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“This is not just about isolated cases,” Mr Mitchell said.

“It is about a wider need to recognise the risks facing solicitors, particularly those handling contentious or high-conflict matters, and to ensure they are not left to deal with such threats alone.

“When legal professionals are intimidated or threatened, it creates a chilling effect that can deter lawyers from taking on challenging cases, potentially denying justice to vulnerable clients.”​

Mrs Long said she was looking forward to meeting with the Law Society to discuss the issue.

“Everyone deserves to work in an environment free from harassment and intimidation,” she said.

“I am committed to strengthening the legislation and providing additional protections to anyone providing services to the public, performing a public duty or delivering a public service. I hope to introduce this as part of the Sentencing Bill later this year.”

The PSNI also said it took the Law Society's concerns seriously.

“We are concerned by some of the highlighted behaviours displayed towards solicitors, particularly females, and we will be meeting with the Law Society to better understand their concerns and seek to address them,” a spokesperson said.

“Solicitors do not have to tolerate threats and crimes as part of their role. We take all reports of intimidation and threats very seriously, and we will continue to investigate them robustly.”

Any solicitor affected by such incidents can contact the Law Society confidentially at memberservices@lawsoc-ni.org.

Leaders from north and south urge ‘find a way’ to deliver on Casement

Cate McCurry and Cillian Sherlock, Irish News, June 21st, 2025

LEADERS on both sides of the border yesterday urged all partners to “find a way” to complete Casement Park.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that it is now time for all those involved to sit around the table and find a way to start and complete the project.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the opportunity to build the stadium should “be seized”, while Tánaiste Simon Harris warned against looking back to see that the moment was “squandered”.

Earlier this month, a British government pledge of £50 million for the development of the GAA stadium in west Belfast was included in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spending review.

However, that pledge still leaves the project far from its funding target under current proposals.

Plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium at the site have been mired in uncertainty because of a major funding gap.

Stormont ministers committed £62.5m to Casement in 2011, as part of a strategy to revamp it along with football’s Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill.

While the two other Belfast-based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement was delayed for several years because of legal challenges by residents.

The estimated cost spiralled in the interim.

Speaking at a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Armagh yesterday, Ms O’Neill said it is time for all partners to “find a way to complete” Casement Park.

Ms O’Neill said: “We all have a role in making sure we get to that point.”

Asked if the GAA should reconsider the plans based on existing commitments for funding, Ms O’Neill said the stadium is now more expensive than if it had been built “a long time ago”.

She said the delays were due to a “whole plague of problems” including planning and political issues.

She said the redevelopment would bring “major social and economic benefits”.

Ms O’Neill added that Casement Park is an executive flagship project.

“We now know what the pot of funding that we have on the table, but now it’s time for all partners involved to get together and sit around the table and find a way now to complete and start the work on the project and to complete the project,” she added.

“I think we all have a role to play in terms of making sure we get to that point.

“But I think it’s now time that we now know and understand the quantum of funding, that we now sit down together and actually work out the next step.”

‘Fairness with equity’

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it is “now over to the GAA” to set out their expectations on their own contribution to the west Belfast stadium and any potential revisions to the development.

She said there was a “significant amount of need” in other sporting areas across the region with other facilities also needing to be upgraded.

She added: “We need to do so with fairness and equity.

“I believe the prospect really exists for a stadium to be agreed and built and this is an opportunity that should be seized in a practical and realistic way

“They are sitting on, I think, approximately £161 or £162 million worth of public spending.

“It’s now over to the GAA to decide can they cut their coat according to their cloth, or what their expectations are in relation to their own contribution.”

She added that the GAA can “do a huge amount” with existing funding commitments.

Mr Martin said Dublin had given a “very substantial” allocation to the project.

“I believe the prospect really exists for a stadium to be agreed and built and this is an opportunity that should be seized in a practical and realistic way.”

Mr Harris said the recent funding announcement was a “huge step forward” for the project.

He said Dublin stands ready to assist the project and warned against looking back to see that the moment was “squandered”.

How Paisley's office failed to pay bills while he claimed millions in public funds

Sam McBride, Northern Editor, Belfast Telegraph, June 21st, 2025

For years, Ian Paisley Jr benefited handsomely from public funds. And for years, we can reveal, his office wasn't paying what was due to the public purse.

A Belfast Telegraph investigation into Mr Paisley's financial arrangements linked to his Ballymena constituency office reveals financial behaviour which the public didn't know before dumping him as MP last year.

While North Antrim MLA and then MP, Paisley was known for his love of the finer things in life — and for getting someone else to pay for them.

In 2001, he claimed £950 (almost £1,800 in today's money) on his Assembly expenses for a single chair.

Later in his career, he realised that far more was on offer from people outside government.

As MP, he accepted a string of luxury gifts, including top-end corporate tickets to Premiership football, Test match cricket and Formula 1 — and undeclared extravagant holidays, one of which came from a foreign regime.

His expenses claims were enormous, but allowed by the rules.

Westminster’s most expensive MP

Out of 650 MPs, in 2013 he emerged as the most expensive MP funded by taxpayers, claiming a total of £232,000 in expenses.

For the following two years he was Parliament's second most expensive MP.

In one five-year parliamentary term alone, he claimed more than a million pounds in expenses.

Paisley emphasised that “none of this money goes to me” and was used to help constituents.

However, some of the money was going to his wife, Fiona.

Taxpayers were paying her between £30,000 and £35,000 a year to act as his 'administrative manager' — on top of Paisley's salary of £100,000, a figure higher than for most MPs because he was on the Commons' panel of chairs.

In 2022, the North Antrim MP had to repay £4,200 after claiming beyond his expenses limit.

Six years earlier, he was one of a dozen MPs to have their credit cards temporarily blocked after he ran up a bill of more than £27,000.

However, despite the Paisleys' personal wealth and the gargantuan expenses the MP was claiming, more than 250 pages of documents obtained by this newspaper show that the rates due to the government for his office were consistently not being paid.

Year after year, Land and Property Services (LPS) repeatedly had to threaten court action to secure the payment of rates on his Ballymena constituency office.

By last April, just three months before the election in which Paisley would be ejected by voters who favoured Jim Allister, the office had run up a bill stretching over three years.

The bill was £6,132 for that year, £5,660 for the previous year and £761 for the year before that.

Yet by May, with the election just weeks away, he still hadn't paid. A final rates demand was issued in capital red letters, warning of debt recovery action if he didn't pay within 10 days.

Repeat offender

What would have alarmed most ratepayers was by then something Paisley had seen over and over again.

The rates demands were addressed to Ballymena Advice Centre Ltd. The company — previously known as Sarcon No 250 Ltd — was a corporate entity which Paisley said didn't exist to make a profit but was a vehicle for the DUP to hold the property “in perpetuity”.

Its sole director was Paisley's father-in-law, James Currie, and then a DUP councillor, Sam Hanna.

Details of the rental agreement make clear that Paisley as the tenant was responsible for paying the rates.

In February 2012, LPS sent the office a debt recovery letter. The bill was eventually paid, but less than a year later another debt recovery letter was sent. This time, the bill wasn't paid and the debt situation became much more serious.

Ballymena Advice Centre Ltd was warned that “obtaining a court judgment against you will have an adverse effect on your credit rating and can lead to bankruptcy proceedings”.

A court summons was issued to force payment of the rates, telling a representative of the company to be in Ballymena Magistrates Court at 10am on July 23 — something which would have been excruciatingly embarrassing because it would have become public.

It was only at this point that Paisley appears to have taken the matter seriously. An LPS official recorded that they'd been phoned by someone in Paisley's office who “requested a copy of the bill so as they can arrange payment”.

In 2016, a message said that there was “payment to come from Westminster for the 20% of the rates for Ian Paisley part of the rates and this looks as this has been an oversight [sic]”.

But by July 2016, there was yet another problem with getting the rates paid.

An official said they spoke to Paisley personally and he said that “they have Assembly members in the property and funds will be released mid-August for full payment”. However, contrary to that assurance, four months later the bill still hadn't been paid, and another debt recovery letter was issued.

The office's owner was then summonsed to appear in court on July 26 2016. A payment was made, and the court action was dropped.

Then another court summons came in January 2017.

A record from that point states that someone whose name has been blacked out told an LPS official that they would pay “with a post-dated cheque” and as a result the official spoke to another person whose name has been blacked out. They agreed to adjourn a court hearing and said they emailed the court clerk.

In July 2017, an LPS official said that a person whose name has been blacked out “wanted to make payment of £2,000 using [a] credit card” but was told that recent changes meant non-domestic ratepayers were no longer allowed to use credit cards to settle their bills.

In 2018, yet again there were problems getting the bill paid on time. An “arrangement” was set up to clear the account within the next six months and “they are aware that further action will proceed if they do not stick to payments”.

Nevertheless, the following month an LPS letter was sent to the office to say that nothing appeared to have been paid. Someone was given authority to act on behalf of the ratepayer at that point, but their name has been blacked out.

The following year, LPS contacted the office asking for them to get in touch about an arrangement “as per court cleansing”.

Bounced cheque

But again and again, the rates simply weren't paid.

At one point, a cheque for £3,000 bounced.

In fact, cheques kept bouncing. In November 2018, even a cheque for £1,000 bounced.

By January 2020, yet another pre-court letter was issued.

Someone arrived at an LPS office asking for the bill to be carried forward into the next financial year.

After internal consultations, LPS refused to do this because it had already allowed unpaid debt to be carried forward — Paisley was effectively pushing payments further and further down the line, while all the while insisting that payment would be coming.

LPS's tough approach worked. Within a fortnight, the bill had been paid.

But just eight months later, a bill was yet again not being paid. Another payment arrangement was set up.

The following year, matters were back to where they'd been. In November 2021, an official said that no payments had been made for that year's bill and so a pre court letter would again be issued.

In what by now appeared to be either a calculated strategy not to pay, or evidence of serious financial difficulties, the bill again hadn't been paid on time and yet another payment arrangement was set up.

Nine months later, the bill remained unpaid. An email sent to an email address linked to Paisley's personal website said bluntly: “The next stage is a court process.”

At this point, someone whose name was blacked out was given authority to act on behalf of the ratepayer and the payment method was changed.

But by August 2023, £12,422 was owed and court action was again threatened. Someone arrived in the LPS office with a cheque for £6,000.

A few months later, in January 2024, there was still an outstanding balance of £6,422.

Eventually, a payment of £3,000 was made — but by then a new rates year had started so that left a bill of £9,555.

A note by an LPS official said that “payments are made from expenses from Assembly [sic]”.

After Paisley lost his seat last year, LPS turned to others to try to get the bills paid.

In January, LPS contacted North Antrim DUP MLA Paul Frew, telling him: “We have been monitoring this account, and to date we have only received payment of £9,000. This leaves a remaining balance of £9,555.13.”

Mr Frew responded that he has “no interest nor connection with this property or account”.

On January 30, a second billing address — that of DUP headquarters in Dundela Avenue — was added to the account.

However, a DUP spokesman told us: “The property in question is not owned by the party and has never been so. As it is not owned or used by us, the party is not liable for the rates on the property, nor is the party aware of any issues regarding the payment of rates past or present.”

The situation is especially embarrassing for the DUP because it has been publicly denouncing the failure of the Department of Finance — now under Sinn Fein — to collect unpaid rates.

Just four months ago, DUP MLA Diane Forsythe questioned why the department was forgoing more than £100m of rates by setting a target of collecting only 93% of bills.

She said the target should be 100% because “it's not fair to those who do pay that others get away without paying”.

About half of rates bills go to local councils to fund services such as bin collections, leisure centres and parks. The remainder goes to Stormont and helps fund critical public services such as the health service, schools and the police.

By March of this year, more than £5,000 was still owed.

The financial arrangements behind the office led to Paisley Jr's resignation as a junior minister in 2008, although he insisted he'd done nothing wrong.

At that point, he and his father were between them claiming £57,200 from public funds to rent the office, which had a link to property developer Seymour Sweeney — almost three times as much as the next most expensive MLA office.

There was no suggestion that Mr Sweeney acted improperly but the fact he had been a director of the company set up to buy the office was awkward for Paisley.

It had previously been revealed that Paisley was repeatedly lobbying for Mr Sweeney — despite having publicly played down his link to the developer, saying “I know of him”.

Paisley's love of money has repeatedly featured throughout his career.

Double funding

In 2018, it emerged that he'd claimed to a Sri Lankan government employee that he had “two significant arrangements with national oil suppliers in either Oman or Nigeria”.

Referring to “a potential oil purchase” they'd discussed, the MP said he would “certainly make this happen very quickly”, adding: “This is the most lucrative project you could be involved in.”

The Sri Lankan government had given the Paisley family two luxury holidays with business-class flights, £11,000 of helicopter travel and an excursion to an elephant orphanage.

Implausibly, Paisley claimed seeing the elephants was “very much a working visit”.

He didn't declare the gifts but then lobbied Downing Street on behalf of the Sri Lankan regime.

When exposed by The Daily Telegraph, Paisley threatened to sue; he never did.

MPs voted to suspend him from the Commons for 30 sitting days, the longest suspension of an MP since 1949.

More junkets were to emerge, this time to the Maldives. Again, they involved luxury holidays for his family.

In 2019, he billed a charity almost £6,000 for a flight to New York; the Tánaiste travelled to the same event in economy class at 10% of Paisley's bill.

We put a series of questions to Paisley. At the time of going to press, there had been no response.