Editorial: Stormont scrutiny chair Paula Bradshaw must reveal promised details of private meeting

A private meeting between Paula Bradshaw and the first minister ahead of her evidence session last month has done nothing to boost confidence in Stormont’s ability to scrutinise itself.

While the Alliance MLA cannot be held responsible for Michelle O’Neill’s refusal to answer questions, she must do what she can to restore some confidence in a system of scrutiny which now faces ridicule.

Paula Bradshaw has publicly promised two basic documents will be made public. The first being the minutes of the private meeting between Ms Bradshaw and her officials, and Michelle O’Neill. Since her first promise to release them, it has transpired that committee officials didn’t take any notes or minutes of what was an obviously sensitive meeting. But Executive Office (TEO) officials may have. The committee has requested them, and must make them public.

The second document she has pledged to release is the full email from Michelle O’Neill. The timing of the email, and where it was sent from, will be relevant to determining the circumstances around the meeting. Those details were removed from the copy given to the committee ahead of Ms O’Neill’s appearance.

Whether it is in Ms Bradshaw’s gift to make them public is another matter – but the pledges have been made and must now be delivered on. Failure to produce these documents at today’s TEO committee would only further feed into a perception that the first minister is calling the shots over a committee that’s supposed to be holding her to account.

Simply saying that everything is above board, while documents promised weeks ago have yet to be made public, won’t do. If TEO is holding matters up, this would be a good opportunity for the committee to stand up and reassert its credibility.