Text message row: Sinn Fein and Alliance blast News Letter over committee scrutiny
MLAs in Stormont’s beleaguered Executive Office committee have criticised the News Letter’s coverage of its activities – as MLAs rowed over text messages which weren’t declared by chairperson Paula Bradshaw.
The newspaper revealed this week that the first minister had made three attempts to directly contact Paula Bradshaw – who was due to question her the following day.
But the messages were not given to MLAs when a list of correspondence was provided “in its entirety” to them by the TEO committee in recent weeks. Paula Bradshaw – who chairs the scrutiny committee – made no mention of the messages when she was questioned previously about a timeline of communications provided by officials.
The issue was raised by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston and the DUP’s Brian Kingston in Wednesday’s meeting, much to the annoyance of MLAs from Sinn Fein, Alliance and the SDLP.
Sinn Fein’s Carál Ní Chuilín said she found the line of questioning “very inappropriate”.
“I just wouldn’t indulge Timothy and the News Letter any more. I think this is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous”.
Timothy Gaston told the Paula Bradshaw that the situation around the undeclared text messages “didn’t look good”.
The Alliance MLA responded “I’ve given up a long time ago worrying about what the News Letter thinks about me or what it writes about me. If you have a problem, you go to the standards commissioner”.
The opposition MLA Sinead McLaughlin said that there is no issue with the undeclared conversations between the first minister and the chair, adding that “it’s pathetic actually, now, at this stage”.
The Foyle SDLP MLA said a “slant” was being put on the story and the committee was being disrupted.
“It’s the performatory nature of it now that I think I really have to draw a line under. Because it’s going nowhere.
“You know, David Thompson will do another wee bit tomorrow in the News Letter or whatever, just leave it. Leave it”, Mrs McLaughlin added.
The dispute over how questioning of Michelle O’Neill was handles – and the series of events leading up to it – has overshadowed the committee since October.