First Minister defends her actions after DUP allegation that Sinn Fein misled either the police or the Assembly

The first minister said she is “confident” that the action taken by her party “was entirely appropriate” – after questions about why she previously said a former party member and Stormont employee had an “involvement” in the incident.

The Sinn Fein deputy leader made the comments in the days after a painting of a former DUP lord mayor – painted by a renowned Jewish artist – was damaged. However, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said last week that the party’s chief whip told police recorded that the man had made no admission to being at the event – and denied any knowledge of the damage.

Prosecutors cited a lack of CCTV and witnesses, an inability to secure a list of attendees and the statement from Sinn Fein’s chief whip as reasons why there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution.

The ex-SF employee was named by the TUV under parliamentary privilege as Naoise Ó Cuilin – the son of Sinn Fein MLA Carál Ní Chuilín. His solicitors said claims he was involved are “entirely false, baseless, and malicious”.

The first minister was called to answer questions on the matter in the Assembly on Monday. DUP MLA Phillip Brett cited comments Ms O’Neill made in the Assembly in October 2024, when she said “a Sinn Féin employee who worked in the Assembly made the party Chief Whip aware of their involvement in an incident regarding a portrait in Belfast City Hall”.

Mr Brett said: “You were then contradicted, First Minister, by your Chief Whip in her public statement to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), when she stated that the individual responsible made no admission to being at the event or knowing about the damage.

“First Minister, either you misled the Assembly, or your Chief Whip misled the police. Both are very serious. Which one is it?”.

The Sinn Fein minister responded: “The events in Belfast City Hall on 19 October have been fully investigated by the PSNI and the PPS, and I said that in the Chamber last week. The PPS has made its decision, and that is the appropriate course of action.

“Given that there was a criminal investigation, I am confident that the action that Sinn Féin took was entirely appropriate”.

She also addressed comments in last week’s Executive Office (TEO) committee, where Mr Brett questioned whether her junior minister, Aisling Reilly, had been invited to the City Hall event in her role as a TEO junior minister, and whether free tickets had also been offered by organisers.

Ms O’Neill said the invitation was not accepted in her role as junior minister – and Ms Reilly had forwarded the invitation to the private offices “to ascertain whether she could attend in her role as junior Minister”.

“To be clear, the total information held by the Executive Office is one email, an invitation to Aisling Reilly as a constituency MLA”, she said.

The first minister said Ms O’Reilly “did not receive five complimentary tickets” and “the invitation was not fulfilled in the role as junior minister”.