Mystery surrounds council boss’s PR move over top IRA man’s funeral

Under intense scrutiny for the preferential treatment afforded to the funeral of a former IRA man, the chief executive of Northern Ireland’s largest council has issued a highly irregular and cryptic statement through a public relations firm, leaving many senior councillors baffled.
Belfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie engaged a private PR firm to issue a statement on her behalfBelfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie engaged a private PR firm to issue a statement on her behalf
Belfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie engaged a private PR firm to issue a statement on her behalf

This afternoon Belfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie and senior council executive Nigel Grimshaw issued what they described as a “personal statement” through public relations firm Brown O’Connor - even though the council has its own team of press officers.

Council veterans said that such a move was in their experience unprecedented.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The council itself did not explain why the statement had been made and the PR firm declined to confirm if Ms Wylie and Mr Grimshaw were personally paying for its services.

The content of the statement left several senior councillors expressing private confusion because it expressed regret for what had happened at Mr Storey’s funeral – something which the council had done in its own statement three days earlier.

Today’s statement said: “We would like to reiterate our sincerest apologies to those families who were affected by events on the 30th June at Roselawn. We recognise that this is unacceptable, and we apologise to those families wholeheartedly and unreservedly.

“A report is being prepared for the council on the facts of the case. This will clarify the sequence of events that took place, and what measures the council will take to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The statement went on to allude to unhappiness at something – but did not specify what it was, and several councillors said that the reference made no sense to them.

It said: “We are concerned about certain statements and comments that have been made, and the impact these may have on our roles in Belfast City Council. We are formally raising these issues with party leaders and the chair of the strategic policy and resources committee.

“Due to an ongoing process, we will not be commenting further.”

The unorthodox personal statement came as Ms Wylie, Mr Grimshaw and other council staff face the likelihood of an independent investigation into not only how Bobby Storey’s funeral was treated preferentially, but how the council issued a press release last Friday which gave the impression that the senior Sinn Féin figure had not been treated differently to other families – something only revealed by the Nolan Show on Monday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Belfast City Council will meet tomorrow after the DUP called a special meeting of the council to consider setting up an independent investigation into its role in Bobby Storey’s funeral.

The DUP motion calls for “an independent person to investigate this situation and to provide a written report to the council”.

The motion, which is expected to attract cross-party support, would give the city solicitor – a council employee – the right to censor parts of the report if he deems that “legally necessary or otherwise appropriate” before it is published on the council website.

Sinn Féin fails to stop move towards Stormont inquiry

The Assembly committee which scrutinises Michelle O’Neill and Arlene Foster’s department has agreed to commission legal advice on setting up an inquiry into the deputy First Minister’s actions at Bobby Storey’s funeral.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sinn Féin failed in an attempt to stop the Committee for The Executive Office from exploring setting up its own investigation into last week’s events.

Such an investigation would be nothing like a public inquiry, but would nevertheless involve considerable powers to compel the appearance of witnesses and the production of documents.

DUP MLA Christopher Stalford made the proposal, arguing that there was a compelling public interest in investigating what happened last week.

UUP MLA Doug Beattie agreed, saying: “We cannot turn a blind eye – we cannot say it’s done and dusted”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan, who was at the funeral, argued against the proposal, saying “I’m not sure what the purpose of this actually is” and asked if a minister could attend an even as an MLA or a party leader “in a completely different capacity”.

He added: “We don’t want to be trespassing on the PSNI’s ground...it’s not a job for a committee of the Assembly, I would think – that would be prejudicial, I would think.”

And independent former Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn also queried the point of asking for legal advice on setting up an inquiry, saying that it “smacks of flogging a dead horse”.

However, MLAs agreed to commission the legal advice and then take a decision on whether to set up an inquiry.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor