'Bring back Paula, jeekers oh!' TUV's Gaston frustrated as Alliance MLA closes down civil service 'activist' question
A TUV MLA has once again been accused of “badgering” a prominent Stormont figure at a key scrutiny committee, after asking Northern Ireland’s top civil servant if she was an activist.
Timothy Gaston was closed down by the Executive Office (TEO) committee’s Alliance deputy chair as he asked Jayne Brady the question – while holding an image of her marching in a Pride parade waving a trans activist flag.
Stewart Dickson criticised Mr Gaston for “showing her pictures and things like that” and brought the questioning to an end.
There were heated scenes as the North Antrim MLA pushed the head of the civil service (HOCS) on her department’s position on equality matters, such as the Supreme Court ruling which defined sex as defined by biology in law.
The meeting was being chaired by Mr Dickson in the absence of Paula Bradshaw – who has clashed repeatedly with Mr Gaston over the past two years. However the handling of the meeting prompted Mr Gaston to exclaim “Bring back Paula, jeekers”.
Ms Brady was before MLAs to answer questions on a limited range of issues, including equality impact assessments, prompting Mr Gaston to push her on the For Women Scotland judgement.
The 2025 ruling by the UK’s top judges provided clarity on the legal definition of terms like man and women under the equality act in Great Britain. However, individual Stormont departments have taken different approaches to the issue.
DUP ministers have implemented policies based on biological sex as a result, while Sinn Fein and Alliance are awaiting local guidance from the Equality Commission.
The quango believes the meanings of man and woman might be different in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain because of the Windsor Framework – and has asked the local High Court to interpret the ruling for Northern Ireland.
That legal action was cited by the Alliance chair as a reason why Mr Gaston should not pursue questions on the matter with Ms Brady. Mr Dickson said the topic was “best avoided”. Mr Gaston said the equality quango’s court case was a “red herring”.
During her evidence, HOCS confirmed that there was no agreement on the issue between the joint first ministers from Sinn Fein and the DUP.
As the TUV MLA asked Ms Brady questions on the matter, Mr Dickson said he was moving on – prompting complaints from Mr Gaston over the time he was granted to quiz HOCS.
“Is that because you don’t like the area of questioning?”, Mr Gaston asked. The Alliance chair cited “ongoing legal proceedings in this matter” – before saying Mr Gaston would be permitted to ask another question, and the committee would decide whether it was admissible.
Mr Gaston asked Ms Brady about her previous attendance at Belfast Pride and whether she would class herself as an activist.
“I would classify myself as a civil service, operating at the head of the civil service in an impartial capacity – which is at the core of our code of ethics”, Jayne Brady responded.
Holding aloft an image of HOCS waving a ‘progress’ trans rights flag, the TUV MLA asked “What part of that is impartial?”
Sinn Fein MLA Carál Ní Chuilín interjected to say “he’s badgering, he’s badgering. It’s ridiculous”. The chair agreed that the question was “badgering the witness”.
“You’re showing her pictures and things like that. They are not relevant to this particular topic of subject”, Mr Dickson stated.
He then moved the proceedings on, to which Mr Gaston remarked: “Bring back Paula, jeekers oh”.
Mr Gaston was previously accused by regular TEO committee chair of “badgering a witness” over questions he posed to Michelle O’Neill during a heated meeting of the body in 2024.