Lisneal College Londonderry: Education minister Paul Givan 'refuses to be bullied' as police charge 62-year-old man with harassment
Education minister Paul Givan has said that he refuses to be bullied, after police charged a 62-year-old man with harassment.
The charges follow a high profile political row linked to an Education Authority grant of £710,00 for a new sports pitch at Lisneal College in Londonderry.
Education Minister Paul Givan has rejected claims from nationalist MLAs that he had intervened to secure the funding. The BBC later reported a Catholic maintained school in the city also got £587,000 for a pitch.
Mr Givan has now released a statement saying he had reported malicious emails sent to him and the principal of Lisneal College.
Police responded that they had now charged a 62-year-old man with harassment, and that he will appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday, 14 March.
A 62-year-old man who has been charged with harassment of the principal is to appear at the court on the same date.
Minister Givan said: “On February 7th I reported to police a series of malicious emails, addressed to me, regarding Lisneal College.
“The receipt of malicious or abusive emails is not acceptable. The harassment of public representatives undermines democracy and discourages others from putting themselves forward for public life.
“I am well used to political crossfire however the emails that I received over the past few weeks have been based on inaccurate information. This is to be condemned.
“Public representatives have the right to carry out their work without harassment.
"It is disappointing that despite having explained on numerous occasions that Minor Works projects have been carried out at schools across Northern Ireland, in line with normal procedures, some continue to imply that I have been involved in the decision-making process and suggest there has been a lack of transparency.
"Today, I'll be doing my job as always. I will not be bullied or deterred from serving the people of Northern Ireland as Education Minister.”
Last week a Department of Education spokesperson said that a man had been charged with harassment in connection with sending emails to the Lisneal College Principal, Michael Allen.
“School principals have the right to carry out their work without the fear of threat or harassment and the Department strongly condemns this shameful incident," it said.