Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
POLL AXED?
Ian may face by-election after Commons & DUP suspension
IAN Paisley could be facing the electorate after being slapped with a double suspension yesterday.
The North Antrim MP was shown the door by both his party and the Commons in the wake of revelations about lavish trips to Sri Lanka.
Voters now face being asked if they want a by-election.
Chair of the Committee on Standards Sir Kevin Barron said: “His actions were of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute.”
IAN Paisley was suspended yesterday by both the DUP and the House of Commons over his free holidays in Sri Lanka.
The move could see the North Antrim MP face a by-election under new rules which mean anyone kicked out of Parliament for more than 10 days is vulnerable to a recall petition.
Mr Paisley has been suspended for 30 sitting days and if 10% of his North Antrim constituency’s electorate – around 7,500 voters – sign the petition a poll will be triggered.
In a brief statement the DUP, who said they took the matter very seriously, announced: “Party officers have decided to suspend Mr Ian Paisley MP from membership of the party pending further investigation into his conduct.”
It is unclear what that is seeking to establish given the comprehensive report drawn up on Mr Paisley’s conduct by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
It also remains to be seen whether the party will lift the suspension before any by-election or face the possibility of running another candidate.
In an interview with his local paper, Mr Paisley said he deeply regretted his actions.
But he added: “There are also some who would have me booted out of Parliament and a by-election called to fill that vacancy.
“They are opportunists, some with questionable motives, and I can tell them I have no intention of going quietly into the night. If a petition leads to a by-election, make no mistake about it, I will seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and don’t intend to do so now.”
Mr Paisley told the Ballymena Guardian he had worked in the island state on many occasions, discussing the Northern Ireland peace process and its relevance internationally.
He denied having any ulterior motive for the “genuine mistake” in 2013, adding he accepted his “total failure” and offered an unreserved apology to the House of Commons.
The commissioner’s probe found Mr Paisley had failed to declare two free holidays, paid for by the Sri Lankan government, worth more than £50,000.
He was also found to have broken rules on paid advocacy after, in March 2014, he lobbied for the Sri
Lankan government against a proposed United Nations resolution to investigate alleged human rights abuses during a civil war on the Indian Ocean island.
Chairman of the Commons Committee on Standards Sir Kevin Barron MP said: “We concluded Mr Paisley had committed serious misconduct and his actions were of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute, which is a further breach of the code of conduct.
“Because we regard this as an especially serious case we have recommended Mr Paisley be suspended from the service of the House for a period of 30 sitting days, starting on the fourth of September.”
Sinn Fein Northern leader Michelle O’neill said Mr Paisley’s colleagues in Westminster have overwhelmingly voted to impose the most serious sanction handed to any MP since 1949.
She added: “When you consider some of the sleaze, corruption and criminal scandals that have engulfed the British Parliament during that time, that is quite extraordinary.”
Head of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland Patrick Corrigan said the victims were those killed in Sri Lanka.
He added: “Mr Paisley saw fit to lobby the Prime Minister against a UN investigation into gross human rights violations, including the mass killing of civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan war, for which no adequate investigation has ever been carried out.”
Amnesty said enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture and other serious human rights violations and abuses had been committed.
Mr Paisley is one of 10 pro-brexit Democratic Unionists helping to prop up Theresa May’s minority Government.
The Commons Standards Committee report said the cost of the hospitality may have been “significantly more” than Mr Paisley’s £50,000 estimate, with the holidays including business-class air travel and accommodation at first-class hotels and him and his wider family.
The trips included meeting Sri Lankan government figures.
I have no intention of going quietly into the night IAN PAISLEY SPEAKING TO BALLYMENA GUARDIAN