Conor Murphy remains in place as finance minister, despite besmirching name of a murdered man

In 2007 Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy claimed that the then recently murdered Paul Quinn had been a criminal and in doing so caused even greater distress to the Quinn family.

By The Newsroom

Published 2nd Mar 2020, 01:37 BST

In 2020 the Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill contradicted Conor Murphy and stated categorically that Paul Quinn had not been a criminal and in doing so directly implied that her party colleague had besmirched the name of a murdered man.

Conor Murphy then declined to publicly withdraw this allegation and remains securely in place as finance minister.

Would this be tolerated in any other democratic society?

The DUP leadership seem prepared to let this matter pass.

Is this the price that has to be paid to protect the party from Sinn Fein criticism when the RHI report is published in a few weeks time?

If so, it is unclear that many ordinary unionists will think that is in the broader interests of unionism.

Colin Cunningham, Cookstown