Julian Smith steps into Royal portraits fiasco, but questions still unanswered

On Wednesday, the News Letter revealed that the NIO had banned the head of state’s image from its walls, something confirmed – in oblique terms – in a parliamentary written answer by NIO Lord Duncan.

But just hours after new Prime Minister Boris Johnson was told about the issue by the UUP and DUP, reportedly leaving him “shocked”, the NIO released a statement from new Secretary of State Julian Smith which implied that Royal portraits had never been removed from Stormont House, with him referring to a photo of the Queen in his office.

That directly contradicted what Lord Duncan had said the previous week.

Last night the NIO continued to refuse to answer questions about whether that photo was only placed there last week after questions had been asked.

But the department did confirm that Mr Smith has now ordered an internal review about the episode. The review would “report in due course”, it said.

Yesterday The Times had revealed on its front page that Mr Smith had ordered the review and also reported that Mr Smith “wants to ensure that the portraits of the monarch are restored within weeks”.

However, while the NIO was keen to confirm the review, it remained silent when asked if Mr Smith wanted to make sure that the Royal portraits are swiftly put back in place.

Lord Maginnis, who first revealed in Parliament that portraits of the Queen had been removed from Stormont House, called on Mr Johnson to intervene in the “appalling” situation.

He said: “The NIO’s permanent secretary, Sir Jonathan Stephens, must answer some basic questions around this shambolic and shameful incident. What legal advice did he seek and receive, and will he now publish that advice?”

He added: “This is a dreadful insult to the monarchy and our Head of State. Her government, specifically her Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, must intervene to correct this appalling decision.”

Lord Maginnis, who vowed that he would “not let this matter rest”, said that “at the very least, Sir Jonathan Stephens should be instructed to deliver an apology to Her Majesty”.

Ulster Unionist peer Lord Rogan, whose questions in the House of Lords revealed the ban on images of the Queen, said: “When it was revealed that portraits of Her Majesty the Queen had been removed from Stormont House by the NIO, I tabled a number of questions in the House of Lords.

“One line in the answer I have received from Lord Duncan intrigued me – ‘Royal portraits hang on public display at Hillsborough Castle, and also in the London Office occupied by the Northern Ireland Office. Other pictures of the Queen are displayed at Stormont House.’

“This raises more questions than answers. First, if Royal portraits can hang on public display at NIO HQ in London and at Hillsborough Castle, then what is the problem with Stormont House? Why is it in a separate category or status to the others?

“Who exactly took the decision that Royal portraits should be removed from Stormont House and what were the grounds/rationale that prompted such a decision? In addition, what minister signed off on this?”

DUP MP Gavin Robinson said that Mr Smith “needs to act” on the issue by reinstating the portraits. He said: “The NIO should reflect the reality that it is a branch of the United Kingdom government. There is no shame in that.”

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said as the head of state, a portrait of the Queen is a “symbol of sovereignty and not identity”.

He added: “What this sorry tale has done is lay bare the meek and weak leadership within the NIO and highlighted the need for immediate change at the top.

“For too long the NIO has seemed to operate as a northern branch of the Republic of Ireland’s Department for Foreign Affairs instead of a British government department. That culture needs to change.”

On Thursday morning, The News Letter asked the NIO two questions:

1) When was the Queen’s photo first displayed in the secretary of State’s stormont House office. Was it there last Monday? Was it there at the start of July, prior to Lord Maginnis’s comments in the Lords?

2) Lord Duncan, in a House of Lords answer on Wednesday, said “other pictures of the Queen are displayed at Stormont House”. We know that one picture of the Queen has now been placed in the secretary of state’s office, but Lord Duncan referred to “pictures”. Where are the other pictures of the Queen which are currently displayed within Stormont House and when were they placed on display in those locations?

Despite multiple reminders, neither question has been answered.

The News Letter also asked Lord Duncan why in his House of Lords answer to Lord Rogan last week he appeared to have misled him about Royal photos in Stormont House. In the answer, he referred to the display of “posters, pictures, portraits or other displays that are more closely associated with one or other of the communities” and said that “the department takes steps to ensure no such images are displayed in Stormont House”.

He did not respond to the question.