Paula Bradshaw's officials took no minutes of a controversial private meeting between her and the First Minister
No minutes were taken by Paula Bradshaw or her officials in the private meeting she held with the First Minister ahead of her evidence session on Wednesday – despite Paula Bradshaw claiming that there were minutes and she would release them.
Ministers are required, under a law introduced by Jim Allister, to minute all meetings – so the Executive Office’s version of events should be recorded.
However, the committee chair or her officials did not keep their own record of what they call an “informal” meeting – despite its highly sensitive nature. It caused tense scenes at the beginning of proceedings on Wednesday afternoon.
TUV leader Jim Allister has described it as an “omnishambles”.
“So, despite her claim on Nolan that there were notes taken of her wholly inappropriate meeting with Michelle O’Neill as a committee witness, it now turns out Paula Bradshaw was wrong on this too.
“Having no minute of her meeting confounds her crass mishandling of this entire omnishambles. With the notable exception of Timothy Gaston, this committee has brought ‘scrutiny’ in Stormont to an all time low”, the North Antrim MP said.
An Assembly spokesperson said “As it was hosted by the First Minister, no notes or minutes were taken by Assembly Committee staff. As is normal procedure, the Chair updated Committee members on the matter at the start of yesterday’s meeting.”
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday night, Ms Bradshaw said “somebody took minutes” and that she is “happy to share them once they are produced”.
Confusion over the minuting of the meeting, whether questions were sent in advance, and mystery over how the First Minister appeared so au fait with the legal advice the committee had – are just some of the issues thrown up by Wednesday’s farcical scenes at Stormont.
The First Minister’s office was sent a number of specific questions by MLAs on the series of scandals besetting Sinn Fein, as the News Letter reported on Wednesday morning.
Earlier that morning, the DUP MLA Brian Kingston told the BBC Nolan Show that the First Minister “hasn’t been told the specific questions”. Then, on the Nolan Live television programme on Wednesday evening he said he had written some of the questions sent in advance.
“I provided some sample questions in advance. Which included references to McMonagle and Niall O Donnghaile… at the suggestion of the committee clerk we were asking the minister to come back two weeks after she had already been at the committee – so we had to provide a rationale for inviting her back. And the rationale was for how much the story had changed”.
On the same programme, Paula Bradshaw had been asked to confirm or deny if full questions were sent to the First Minister ahead of the meeting. The Alliance MLA said “only two questions” were supplied – saying “they were about safeguarding”.
Asked for her understanding of why a witness (in this case the First Minister) was given a full question before appearing, the committee chair said: “Because it was to demonstrate why she would be coming back to answer in her role as Executive office minister as opposed to party political questions that she does not have to answer to at our committee”.
There were not two full questions sent to Michelle O’Neill – there were seven. They were sent last Friday. You can read them all below.
Questions have also been raised about how the First Minister appeared to know what legal advice the committee scrutinising her had been given.
Michelle O’Neill told MLAs “I know that this committee has been given legal advice about” the questions she could answer. She continued “we all need to be conscious of the clear legal advice that we have”.
She challenged the chair over a question she asked about the IRA Army Council’s influence on the Executive – asking: “Are you confident that you’re following your own legal advice?” The Alliance MLA said she was of the opinion that the committee members have a right to ask questions, but struggled to articulate the legal position. Alliance MLA Connie Egan then read from the legal advice the committee had received, saying “the legal advice said that witnesses could not be compelled to answer if it was felt it was not within the vires of the committee – not that the chair had to rule it out”.
The chair accepted that, but then continued to rule out questions – including one from Timothy Gaston on Ms O’Neill’s employment of Michael McMonagle, which she deemed “an employment contract” issue.
In an email sent to MLAs alerting them of Ms Bradshaw’s meeting with the First Minister (sent 10 minutes before it happened) officials said the legal advice would be discussed. This came after an email from the First Minister requesting a discussion about it.
On the BBC Nolan Show on Wednesday night, Ms Bradshaw said she was asked to meet with the First Minister because it was “unprecedented” – and said she would “frequently meet with witnesses”. She said it was not “a secret meeting” and that officials attended. The committee chair said she relayed the First Minister’s request to MLAs, some of whom said no.
The TUV have tabled questions about whether the First Minister’s department commissioned legal advice – and whether the deputy First Minister agreed to that.