Dead man in suspicious death probe named as Stormont worker

Shock has been voiced over the discovery of a Stormont Assembly worker's body, with the PSNI saying that they are treating his death as suspicious.
A man has been arrested following the death of a man in Holywood Co DownA man has been arrested following the death of a man in Holywood Co Down
A man has been arrested following the death of a man in Holywood Co Down

The man – believed to be in his mid-40s – was found in a house in a rural area between Holywood and Crawfordsburn, north Down.

He did administrative work in the Stormont’s Assembly’s finance branch, dealing with matters such as MLAs’ expenses and salaries.

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Gordon Dunne MLA, who has been a representative in north Down for decades, was among those who gave the man’s name as Paul Gordon.

In the early hours of Monday morning, the PSNI announced that the body had been found on the previous night in the Ballydavey Cottages area, and that a 53-year-old man had been arrested.

As of Monday night, it is understood he remained in custody.

No ambulance attended the scene.

It is understood a post-mortem examination will be carried out on Tuesday to determine the cause of his death.

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“It’s tragic,” Mr Dunne said. “The local community’s obviously very shocked about it. It’s a very quiet location.”

He said he had encountered him a number of times at Stormont, and said “he kept himself to himself”.

“He was just a gentle giant of a fellow – and was very thorough in any business that he did with us as MLAs. It’s a tragic death. There’s shock within the community, and sadness, at what has happened in such an idyllic rural setting as the Holywood hills.”

Green North Down MLA Steven Agnew said there had been “some surprise” when he told MLAs on the floor of the Assembly at about 4.30pm that he had been an Assembly worker.

“At that point, I don’t think the word had really got round,” he said.

Echoing Mr Dunne, he also offered his sympathies to the man’s family.

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