Predictable affirmations of loyalty at NIW, but unanswered questions remain - Allister
01 September 2010
Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:-
"There is no surprise in the new board of NIW backing a Chief Executive, whom it is said threatened to resign if new non executive directors were not appointed. Hand picked by the Minister to fit the bill, they dutifully oblige and make an affirmation of confidence in the Chief Executive their top priority!
"But key questions remain and must not be dodged. How and why were the new Non Executive Directors at NIW chosen, bearing in mind, in particular, that one of them is a known Sinn Fein acolyte? How and why was Mr White from Dublin chosen by Minister Murphy to Chair NIW, bearing in mind his apparent family affinity with Sinn Fein causes, not least his wife's support for the Columbia Three, whom she visited in jail?
"These questions are quite apart from and additional to how was the Independent Review Team (IRT) into NIW appointed, what links existed between those appointed and NIW/DRD personnel, why did the IRT permit the DRD Permanent Secretary to meddle in its work and rewrite aspects of its report? And, is there a history of abuse of power regarding supposedly independent reviews, both within DRD and other departments and how widespread is the culture which caused a Permanent Secretary to feel able to act as he did?
"I do not believe that the Cabinet Office review will be adequate to address these matters. I repeat that public disquiet can only be assuaged by a thorough-going, wholly independent inquiry, set up under the The Inquiries Act 2005. The more DRD resists such, the more the suspicion will grow about what the Minister and his Department have to hide."
