'This isn't Castlereagh holding centre' - Speaker Poots warns ministers about 'no comment' answers to MLAs

​Edwin Poots’s reference to the famous RUC base, where terrorist suspects were questioned during the Troubles, came after a DUP MLA asked him to probe the decision of the justice minister not to answer a question relating to the Police Ombudsman (PONI).

Phillip Brett had asked Naomi Long about the amount of money spent by the Ombudsman defending legal action taken by retired police officers.

The High Court recently ruled that Marie Anderson’s organisation had acted outside its legal powers in alleging “collusive behaviours” between police officers and loyalist paramilitaries in Troubles murders.

Minister Long said that it was an “operational matter” for PONI, arguing that they are “an independent body and how they allocate their budget is a matter for them to decide and report upon”. The Alliance leader suggested Mr Brett contact them directly.

The DUP MLA raised the issue with Speaker Poots in the Assembly on Tuesday. He said: “This is public money that comes out of the budget of the justice department. We are told day and daily by the Justice Minister that she does not have the funds that she needs, but seems uninterested in how much public money has been wasted on this court case by the Police Ombudsman.

“Mr. Speaker, can you give me guidance as to how I can get answers from my constituents and the people of Northern Ireland, who rightly deserve to know how much money has been wasted” by PONI.

Mr Poots said the member could go down the route of a Freedom of Information request, but said that undermined Assembly procedures. He said if ministers are “sitting on answers that they know they have, and are withholding information, they are showing disrespect for the community in Northern Ireland.

“This isn't Castlereagh holding centre, where people are sitting saying ‘no comment, no comment, no comment’.

“And I would suggest to ministers that it's not a good look withholding information from members where you have that information”.