Belfast City Council silent on ‘misleading’ BBC by claiming junior employee to blame over Storey funeral

Northern Ireland’s largest council has offered no explanation for why it allegedly misled the BBC about what happened at Bobby Storey’s funeral by claiming that a junior member of staff had been responsible for the decision to give the former IRA man preferential treatment.
By Sam McBride
Published 16th Jul 2020, 07:00 GMT
There has been turmoil at Belfast City Hall over recent weeksThere has been turmoil at Belfast City Hall over recent weeks
There has been turmoil at Belfast City Hall over recent weeks

Three days after Mr Storey’s June 30 funeral the council issued a misleading statement which said that Stormont’s guidance had allowed 30 mourners into the grounds of Roselawn Crematorium and that on the day of Mr Storey’s cremation all cremations had complied with that guidance.

Days later it was revealed by BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show that in fact this was wrong and eight other families had not been allowed to enter the crematorium grounds in the same way as the friends and family of Mr Storey.

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Now the same BBC programme revealed that the council had separately – and repeatedly – briefed it that the decision, for which it ultimately apologised, had been taken not by one of its senior directors but by a more junior member of staff for “operational” reasons.

Yet a leaked internal report drawn up for councillors last week reports that it was senior council officer Nigel Grimshaw who approved key decisions around the funeral.

On Tuesday, Stephen Nolan reported that the council had told him that a more junior member of staff had “admitted” to what he had done.

Mr Nolan said he was told that the individual was “worried about it” and that “management would have to have words with him because of what he had done”.

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When asked about that accusation and whether senior council staff had apologised to the junior member of staff involved, the council declined to comment, telling the News Letter: “A decision has been taken by [councillors] to carry out an independent investigation, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Last week councillors voted overwhelmingly to set up an independent investigation into what happened. Despite a threat to resign if that happened, Mr Grimshaw and council chief executive Suzanne Wylie have not resigned.

The News Letter asked the council whether any of its senior staff who had any role whatsoever in the situation being investigated would have any role in selecting the investigator. The council replied: “It will be up to [councillors] to agree who is appointed to carry out the investigation”.

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Related topics:Belfast City CouncilBBCNorthern IrelandIRAStephen Nolan