Ministerial Breaches of the Executive's COVID-19 Messaging

Part of Private Members' Business – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 1:45 pm on 1 April 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Doug Beattie Doug Beattie UUP 1:45, 1 April 2021

In making a winding-up speech on the motion, I will reflect on nearly two hours of robust debate that was heated, certainly passionate, moving and angry at times. The debate ebbed and flowed, as it has done inside and outside the Chamber, about bereavement and how we remember lost loved ones, which, as Paul Frew said, goes to the heart of our society.

I thank everybody for their contribution to the debate. I timed Sinn Féin's contribution: it was four minutes. Four minutes of a two-hour debate to set out their stall on the matter. It is just not good enough. Absolutely not good enough. We needed to hear more; we heard nothing. The party doubled down on the position it held before we came to the House today.

Policing and justice has been damaged. Of course it has been damaged. However, like many people in this place, I have to reiterate that we cannot lay the blame on the rank-and-file police officer who has to interpret a set of regulations, written by us, that has to be delivered at the sharp end of justice; mistakes will be made.

People have pointed out the mistakes made by the gold commander at the funeral. Yes, he has made mistakes. Absolutely he has made mistakes. If he had worked on the enforcement aspect of the engagement, we may not be where we are today. If he had simply said, "You know what, you see that Milltown eulogy? It's not acceptable, it ain't happening. Go away and rethink that", we may not be where we are today.

The Chief Constable has come under serious scrutiny and criticism. I have to say, regrettably, that is justified because he is the head of a police force like no other. This is not Kent or the Midlands: this is Northern Ireland. We have a very distinct policing issue and, unfortunately, he has, in many ways, failed to understand that.

Please let us not lose sight of what happened. The very fact that the issue came about is because a political party — Sinn Féin — sat down in ministerial positions and made rules and regulations that they told everybody to adhere to and they did not. They just did what they wanted to do, and they cannot get away in the smoke as we start focusing on other people. It was not a decision made by mistake; it was a decision taken deliberately knowing the consequences. They organised the funeral in detail with the police. They even organised the wake, as Mr Stalford clearly pointed out. They proudly said, "We organised the wake", even though the rules stated you were not allowed to have a wake. There were signs pointing out to people how to go to the wake. That was compounded when the party refused to apologise and show contrition. They simply promoted the idea that they were above everybody else and that they had some kind of privilege that we do not. The IRA army council directed how the funeral should be done because it wanted to remember one of its own.

That is the reality. If they had shown political understanding, they would not have done it.