After cryptic call from Bell, email released

Amid shambolic scenes in the Assembly chamber yesterday morning, Mr Bell stepped out into the Great Hall and cryptically read out the subject line, sender, recipient and date of an email sent in January.

He claimed that it contained critical information about the scandal but that he was being prevented from publishing details of the message and called for that ban to be lifted.

However, the attachment to the email was published last night by Economy Minister Simon Hamilton and did not immediately appear to clarify the situation.

The document, from DETI permanent secretary Andrew McCormick to the Head of the Civil Service, did allude to unspecified individuals’ “reluctance to close the scheme” and said that it had “proved difficult to begin to limit the payments under the scheme”.

Another part appears to be something of a mea culpa by Mr McCormick, saying that “with hindsight, I might have sought a ministerial direction at an earlier stage”.

Mr Bell has not yet commented on the email’s release.

Meanwhile, in the Assembly yesterday Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd said that suspicions that DUP business donors were told money could be made from the flawed green energy scheme should be investigated.

Opposition figures said £85,000 a day had been pledged from public coffers as part of the chronically overspending scheme and suggested friends and family of Northern Ireland’s largest party benefited.

Mr O’Dowd asked: “Who spotted the flaw and met with members of business groups or farmers? Who may or may not be contributors to the DUP? That is at the heart of it - corruption. Were there members or supporters of the DUP or other political parties in this chamber who were taken to one side, shown the details of the scheme, and said ‘buy into this and you will make money’?”

TUV leader Jim Allister claimed: “There are DUP members on these benches who could tell a lot about this scheme, who could tell about their party donors who have benefited.”