An overhaul of the Stormont Assembly's rules is needed over First Minister private meeting ‘scandal’

The TUV’s Timothy Gaston has asked for “urgent changes” to Assembly rules to prevent a repeat of the scandal over a private meeting between a scrutiny committee chair and the First Minister.

Paula Bradshaw attended a meeting requested by Michelle O’Neill just hours before she was due to give evidence to a committee last month.

placeholder image — TUV MLA Timothy Gaston has challenged a number of aspects of the Executive committee's chaotic handling of scrutinising the First Minister.

Other MLAs on the Executive Office (TEO) committee only had 10 minutes notice that the pair were meeting – and Mr Gaston raised the issue ahead of the Sinn Fein politician’s appearance.

On Thursday, Mr Gaston said: “I have today written to Stormont’s Procedures Committee requesting urgent changes to Assembly standing orders in order to avoid a repeat of the Executive Office Committee scandal which saw the Chairperson of the committee meet with the First Minister in advance of giving evidence to the committee”.

When the committee met again on Wednesday, the North Antrim MLA proposed a rule change – which was accepted – that the Chairperson “would not meet with a political witness prior to giving evidence without prior agreement from the Committee”.

Mr Gaston said on reflection he believes there is merit in this “applying to any evidence session from any witness”.

Other MLAs on the committee who had raised no concerns about the private meeting at the time agreed with Mr Gaston’s initial proposal. Chair Paula Bradshaw has defended the meeting as an entirely normal meeting with a minister.

In his letter to Stormont’s Procedures committee, the TUV MLA said that the private meeting was requested by the First Minister in order to head off any prospect that the meeting didn’t damage the “positive working relationship between Ministers and the Committee”. He said this was “hardly the starting point one would like if the primary goal of getting the Minister before the Committee was to get to the truth without fear or favour via robust and probing questions”.

Mr Gaston criticised the discussion of specific questions likely to be asked in the meeting – saying it was “a clear attempt by the First Minister to head off certain issues and obtain assurances...about how these issues would be dealt with”.