Scrutiny chair Paula Bradshaw asked to step aside after going 'behind the back' of MLAs by having a private meeting with the First Minister

Paula Bradshaw met the Sinn Fein leader on Wednesday morning – which was requested by Michelle O’Neill in advance of her appearance to answer questions later.

Executive Office committee member Timothy Gaston said the meeting had been compromised – and accused Ms Bradshaw of going “behind the back of the committee”.

He has asked officials to “find an alternative chair”.

However, at the start of the committee, Ms Bradshaw said her meeting with the First Minister had been “very standard practice”.

“There is no issue,” she stressed.

“It was not a one-to-one meeting, the clerk was there, the Permanent Secretary of the Executive Office was there and others so to suggest that this was some shady meeting is totally disingenuous.”

DUP MLA Diane Dodds said Ms Bradshaw “has a bit of explaining to do”. The Upper Bann MLA asked why the meeting was necessary when matters of process can be sorted between committee clerks and the First Minister’s office.

It comes after the News Letter revealed yesterday morning that First Minister’s office had been sent a number of specific questions in advance of her attendance at Stormont’s Executive Office committee on the series of scandals besetting Sinn Fein.

Other committee members were only made aware of the meeting between Paula Bradshaw and Michelle O’Neill minutes in advance of it actually happening.

The First Minister wrote to the committee chair without the permission of the deputy First Minister – raising questions about what capacity she believed she was dealing with Ms Bradshaw, as she has no authority to act without her DUP partner. Until now, Michelle O’Neill has argued that any engagement with the committee must be relevant to her ministerial role.

Her letter highlighted that the committee is “confined to the statutory functions which I exercise jointly as First Minister” – and requested the legal advice that the committee had.

Without a meeting of the committee to agree to such an approach, the chair Paula Bradshaw met the first minister to discuss the “conduct” of the meeting but not its “content”.

TUV MLA Mr Gaston said he objected “to the legal advice being shared and there should be no questions of it being shared on the basis of an email being circulated to members”. He said the committee had agreed that the legal advice was privileged – and should not be shared.

MLAs on the committee were told that Ms Bradshaw would “speak to the legal advice” with the First Minister – but not share it.

The North Antrim MLA said “It is untenable that someone who, behind the back of a committee, compromised her ability to act as an impartial chair should oversee today’s proceedings”.

North Antrim MLA Mr Gaston has written to Paula Bradshaw asking why other members of the committee weren’t invited to the meeting. The letter says: “How can anyone have confidence in today’s meeting and what will take place there when the Chairperson has granted the witness a one-to-one meeting to discuss the conduct of said meeting”.

The TUV representative continued: “In my view this meeting compromises todays committee meeting, is disorderly as no approval was sought for it from committee and frankly I’m disappointed with your own involvement in this affair”.

Mr Gaston has asked when the communication from the First Minister requesting a meeting was received and why the committee was only informed minutes before it took place.