Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BE MY GUEST IAN’S FACING STANDARDS PROBE...HOL OVER AGAIN
Paisley in hot water over undeclared Maldives jaunt
IAN Paisley is facing fresh calls to quit amid claims he failed to declare another luxury holiday to parliamentary authorities.
The North Antrim MP has been urged to resign after allegations he holidayed in the Maldives courtesy of the Indian Ocean nation’s government.
The DUP has pledged to examine the “very serious” claims levelled in by BBC Spotlight.
Mr Paisley denied it was paid for by the Maldives government, insisting an unnamed friend part-funded the 2016 vacation.
Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Ulster Unionists have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone demanding a probe.
Last night it was reported he had contacted the office of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to arrange a meeting.
Sinn Fein and the SDLP said Mr Paisley should resign and, if he did not, DUP leader Arlene Foster was obliged to take action against him. Spotlight’s claims came days after Mr Paisley returned to Parliament after a 30-day suspension for failing to declare two trips paid for by the Sri Lankan government and lobbying on its behalf. He avoided a by-election after Parliament’s first recall petition fell short of the number of constituent signatures required to oust him.
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’neill said: “It’s the latest in a long line of scandals associated with the DUP and Ian Paisley. He should have resigned many months ago.
“Where he finds himself again at the centre of another scandal is not befitting of someone who holds public office.”
At last month’s party conference Mrs Foster apologised after acknowledging conduct within the party had fallen short in a number of areas.
Mrs O’neill added: “Those fine words need to be acted upon and this will be the first test of Arlene Foster’s comments at her party conference.”
SDLP Colum Eastwood called for Mr Paisley to quit, adding: “If he doesn’t, the onus is on Mrs Foster to remove him.” UUP leader and fellow North Antrim representative Robin Swann said: “The DUP needs to be open about when they learned of these allegations and what they know.
“They cannot simply hide behind a statement saying they will investigate. This is yet another stain on North Antrim and the reputation of politics.”
The Maldives trip, to a resort owned by Hussain Hilmy, came under scrutiny months after Mr Paisley travelled to the country on parliamentary business.
YESTERDAY