Timothy Gaston's proposed Assembly ban comes after repeated clashes with Alliance committee chair
While Stormont officials have asked media organisations not to publish details of the standards investigation into Timothy Gaston until Monday, it is widely known that it relates to a complaint by the Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw against the TUV man.
The pair have clashed repeatedly in Executive Office (TEO) committee which she chairs – with events coming to a head in October 2024.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill appeared to be questioned over her party’s handling of events surrounding a former SF employee – Michael McMonagle – a man later convicted of child sex offences.
The Sinn Fein leader sought – and received – a meeting with Ms Bradshaw in advance of the evidence session to discuss how it would be conducted.
The scrutiny session itself was derailed by rows about that meeting – and what MLAs could and couldn’t ask. In one exchange, Mr Gaston accused Ms Bradshaw of trying to limit questions – a claim she strongly rejected. Mr Gaston responded: “Take a step back, you’re ok. It’s OK. Breathe”.
The Alliance MLA accused him of “trying to frustrate the business of this committee”. In an interview with the BBC’s Nolan Show later that evening, Ms Bradshaw said “I have found his behaviour from the start to be very misogynistic”.
Subsequently, Ms Bradshaw apologised for a “breach” of the Assembly’s rules – after she had instructed an Assembly official to cut the cameras in the committee room. She did so after Mr Gaston had attempted to raise a letter of complaint about her handling of previous meetings.
Prior to the showdown over Ms O’Neill’s appearance, the Alliance chair had objected to Mr Gaston questioning witnesses rather than listening to their “lived experience” and reprimanded him for raising social media posts by another witness giving evidence to the body.
That incident related to questions the TUV man had asked of Age NI on transgender issues, which Ms Bradshaw had branded “inappropriate questioning” and said it would not be tolerated.
After a complaint from the charity, the Assembly Standards Commissioner upheld his right to ask the questions. Mr Gaston said Ms Bradshaw ha shown a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the role of scrutiny committees, after she told the investigation that witnesses “weren’t there for scrutiny”.
The chair previously said she “was never going to challenge” someone giving evidence – after criticising Mr Gaston for questioning an unevidenced claim that the Housing Executive was institutionally racist.