Letter: Questions must be asked over appointments to the board of Invest Northern Ireland

Invest NI is a critical economic body, tasked with attracting investment, growing businesses and strengthening Northern Ireland’s economy.

There are serious and legitimate questions to be asked about this. A former Sinn Fein finance minister and someone who has made clear that they canvassed on behalf of Sinn Fein have been appointed by a Sinn Fein minister.

We are told that all appointments are made on merit. If that is the case, then the department must be prepared to demonstrate clearly how these individuals were assessed, what criteria were applied and how political activity was weighed in that process.

More broadly, there is a growing concern that under Sinn Fein control and a protocol-implementing Stormont, key economic levers are increasingly being aligned with a particular political vision - one that is openly geared towards an all-Ireland economy.

Businesses, investors and the wider public need confidence that Invest NI is focused on one thing and one thing only: making Northern Ireland a competitive, attractive and successful place to do business within the United Kingdom.

Coming after the appointment of a Sinn Fein activist as Irish language commissioner, unionists are entitled to ask what exactly is going on in Stormont and how devolution can be said to be in the interests of the Union. Many will conclude that it is not.

Keith Ratcliffe, TUV business spokesman and Cusher councillor