T1. Ms McLaughlin asked the Minister for the Economy to correct the record and apologise, given that last week he said two things that have since had to be corrected: first, that Sinn Féin could not share any information with the British Heart Foundation on the reason for Michael McMonagle's suspension from the party because it would have prejudiced a police investigation, which has been corrected by the Chief Constable, and, secondly, that the British Heart Foundation should have done better due diligence on Mr McMonagle's appointment, when it is now clear that it acted entirely appropriately and properly and that it was the Minister's party that failed in its processes. (AQT 621/22-27)

First, had you listened to the interview in full, you would have heard me say, on a number of occasions, that my party had no information on Mr McMonagle's whereabouts beyond the time when we suspended him, so I was not, in fact, in a position to advise the British Heart Foundation on his employment. The party leadership was not aware that he worked for that organisation at that time. I went on to offer an opinion on what the process might be if someone had information, and what jeopardy there might be in that regard. I am happy to accept the Chief Constable's view on that. I absolutely concur on the due diligence issue: I accept absolutely that I did not have all the information and that, therefore, I should not have commented on that. I am happy to share in the apology that the First Minister made and that which was offered by my party president yesterday.

I thank the Minister for that answer. At every point along this journey, it has been a safeguarding issue. There are innocent children and victims at the heart of the matter. Would you be happy to engage in a wider inquiry into the multiple aspects of the failure of due process and due diligence?

My party will certainly conduct an inquiry into the processes that were applied, and we will seek outside assistance on that. I have to say that this matter is not unique to my party. Your party had issues with a councillor in South Down, which brought it into conflict with Rape Crisis when it refused to suspend him even after he had been charged. All of us have had lessons to learn over the years in how to deal with those issues, and all of us need to improve. My party is no different to any other in that regard. Of course, my party will look at the lessons to be learned from this. We will seek professional advice to ensure that our processes are as robust and safe as they can be. Safeguarding is our primary concern. We need to ensure that the processes reflect that.