Morning View: The latest revelation in the free fuel fiasco is typical of Stormont's dysfunction

​​The revelation that the Assembly does in fact hold information about which MLAs availed of free electricity to power their electric cars, is typical of the dysfunction at Stormont.

Earlier this month, a BBC investigation revealed that some MLAs who drive electric cars were charging them for free at Parliament Buildings despite already being paid travel expenses.

The politicians who benefitted from the free top-ups did not declare their involvement to the public after the initial report, and only did so when they were named by the broadcaster.

The Assembly initially said records of who had booked the charging points was not retained. On Friday, it was reported that officials did in fact have records dating back six months on a back-up system.

Seemingly unaware of how the whole sorry saga looked to members of the public who have to pay for their own fuel to get to work, the Assembly had initially said the scheme existed to support “more sustainable travel choices”.

It was only after reporting by the BBC’s Brendan Hughes and the Nolan Show – and a significant public backlash – that arrangements were made to pay money back.

The four who have been named were the DUP’s Pam Cameron and Trevor Clarke, Alliance’s David Honeyford and the UUP’s Robbie Butler. All four acted within the rules.

However, the Assembly then closed the charging facility until a payment system could be set up, and began looking at a repayment scheme. Now that officials have found information they said didn’t exist, it should be released.

The initial defence of the scheme shows that Stormont often just doesn’t understand the public, and the sudden appearance of records officials said didn’t exist hardly instils confidence in how the Assembly is run.