DUP claims it goofed to cover its complicity in a Sinn Fein First Minister
06 November 2009
Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister QC
“In its attempted pre-emptive strike against my Conference speech tonight the DUP has been forced to claim it botched the
“In reaction to my exposure that they failed on 21st November 2006 in Parliament to vote against the legislative change which now permits Sinn Fein to become First Minister, the DUP’s anonymous spokesman has been forced into this cringing, but itself dishonest excuse that what was agreed “was not faithfully implemented when Parliament passed the legislation”. So what did the 9 DUP MPs do about it – they sat on their hands, didn’t even force a vote and certainly didn’t vote against the new Section 16C(6) of the 1998 Act, brought in by Section 8 of the NI St Andrews Act, 2006.
“It was that change which with flashing lights decreed that henceforth the First Minister would come from the biggest party. Mr Robinson wanted it so, because he wanted to use it as a stick to duress Unionists into voting DUP. That is the truth of the matter, and their limp and pathetic excuse tonight that Parliament didn’t faithfully implement what was agreed is a dishonest diversion from this reality. But, if it is true, then it is an admission of a gross dereliction by the DUP in the negotiations.
“However, I reject utterly that the DUP negotiators, who agreed the terms of the St Andrews legislation at secret proximity talks in London with Sinn Fein, did not know what they were agreeing to, not least because I publicly exposed the issue before it ever got to Parliament (see http://www.jimallister.eu/default.asp?blogID=541 ) on 17 November 2006, 4 days before the debate in Parliament. So, if they wanted to block the threat of McGuinness becoming First Minister why did they not vote against this monstrous change on
