Confusion in NIO as PM ‘shocked’ to hear of Queen’s photo removal

The News Letter revealed yesterday that prominent photos of the Queen were removed from Stormont House during the 2017 general election period.

The decision had been taken after what Lord Maginnis told the House of Lords was a decision to pay senior NIO official Lee Hegarty £10,000 for being offended at having to walk past portraits of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Lord Maginnis said that those portraits were removed to be replaced by images acceptable to Mr Hegarty, among which was a picture of the Queen shaking hands with Martin McGuinness.

But that image has now been removed as well.

Mr Johnson yesterday met the political parties in Stormont House but did not hold the customary press conference to take questions from the media.

Last night there was confusion after the NIO issued a statement from new Secretary of State Julian Smith which contradicted what NIO minister Lord Duncan told the House of Lords when he referred to images such as those of the Queen and said that “no such images are displayed in Stormont House”.

The DUP said that its leader, Arlene Foster, had “raised the removal of portraits of Her Majesty The Queen with the Northern Ireland secretary of state and the prime minister”.

UUP chairman Lord Empey, who was among the UUP delegation to meet Mr Johnson, said that when UUP leader Robin Swann raised the News Letter revelation the prime minister appeared “shocked”.

Lord Empey said: “He was clearly surprised. He was looking around on each side of him for some guidance and then the only contribution was that some civil servant said it was ‘a personnel matter’. But clearly he was not aware of it and seemed genuinely surprised.

“My hope and expectation is that he’ll find out about the details but I’d think it’s quite a hard sell to defend what has happened where you have a UK government office where the picture of the head of state is not permitted to be displayed.

“If you go to an American government office, President Trump’s picture will be on display, if you go to an Irish government building you will see the picture of the Irish president – and rightly so. This whole thing is bonkers.”

The News Letter first asked the NIO questions about the issue on Monday morning. Despite several reminders, the NIO did not respond until late on Tuesday night, after appearing to carefully consider its response – yet the brief response avoided answering the questions.

Throughout yesterday, as the story was picked up by the Nolan Show, the Frank Mitchell Show and the Belfast Telegraph, the NIO refused to offer any substantive comment and did not dispute the accuracy of the News Letter story.

Then last night, within minutes of BBC Newsline reporting on the controversy, the NIO released a statement from Secretary of State Julian Smith. In it he said that he was “delighted to see a picture of Her Majesty in my office when I arrived at Stormont House for the first time”.

The NIO later clarified that his first day in Stormont House was last Friday.

The News Letter spoke to a well-placed source who last night expressed “utter surprise” when told about what Mr Smith had said.

Last week UUP peer Lord Rogan had tabled parliamentary questions about the issue.

When the NIO was asked by this newspaper whether the Queen’s picture had suddenly reappeared in Mr Smith’s office as recently as last week, an NIO spokesman said that he did not know.

Mr Smith’s comments contradict those of NIO minister Lord Duncan. Last week, in answer to a written House of Lords question from Lord Rogan, he said that in line with advice from the Equality Commission the NIO was sensitive to the display of “posters, pictures, portraits or other displays that are more closely associated with one or other of the communities”, a phrase which includes the Queen, and added: “I can confirm that the department takes steps to ensure no such images are displayed in Stormont House.”

TUV leader Jim Allister said that the situation needed to be “addressed urgently” by Mr Smith. DUP MP Paul Girvan said that the NIO’s decision was “grossly offensive and disrespectful to many people here in Northern Ireland”.

It is not yet clear whether the portraits were removed because that was necessary under equality law or whether the NIO went far beyond what the law demands.

However, in an indication of how the decision has the potential to undermine support for equality laws, Mr Girvan characterised the decision as “the outworking of the so-called ‘equality agenda’ that lies at the heart of the Belfast Agreement”.

Last night Ulster-born Labour MP Kate Hoey said that “all the other pictures of Her Majesty must be put back” and said the episode raised questions for the NIO’s top official, Sir Jonathan Stephens.