Stormont's first ministers say the UK government must answer questions over Police Ombudsman security clearance
Stormont’s joint leaders have urged the UK government to provide clarity around the appointment of Marie Anderson after the DUP leader alleged that the former Police Ombudsman had not received security clearance for the post.
Yesterday, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said the matter would be investigated as part of the probe into the government’s vetting process prompted by the appointment and sacking of Peter Mandelson.
That came after the DUP leader Gavin Robinson told parliament that Mrs Anderson was appointed to the role “despite security service concerns”.
He called for a “deep dive” into her appointment, including “why she was appointed; why the security information was ignored; and how this can be the case”.
Mrs Anderson has been approached for comment, however it is understood she will not be responding to the claims. The retired Police Ombudsman was appointed to the role in 2019 by the then Secretary of State Karen Bradley, in the absence of Stormont ministers. In normal circumstances, she would have been appointed by the first and deputy first ministers.
DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “I think when a whistleblower comes forward with information that this has potentially happened here in relation to a very high-profile and sensitive post – a post where that person will have access to a significant amount of very high-level and secure data – then, of course, that needs to be called out – that has been done by my party leader, Gavin Robinson.
“And we need to get to the truth of this. If there is truth in this allegation, then that then needs to come forward. We need to investigate and it needs to be investigated fully”.
She said it would be “absolutely preposterous to suggest that we shouldn’t have that kind of high-level vetting for these secure posts in Northern Ireland because of some kind of political or other agenda”.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it is for the UK government to “provide clarity” on the process that they followed – adding that speculation isn’t “helpful for either the individual involved or for anybody involved in the process”.