Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Monster raving unionist party...
Bell tells RHI inquiry he was victim of a DUP smear plot
A FORMER Stormont minister yesterday claimed he was labelled a “monster who had to be put to sleep” over the RHI scheme.
Jonathan Bell said he was the victim of a massive smear campaign and had been framed by members of his own party, the DUP.
He made the allegations as he gave evidence to a public inquiry into the green energy scheme.
The Belfast hearing is probing why costs spiralled under the watch of his Enterprise Department, which oversaw the project from 2015 to 2016.
Mr Bell blamed the DUP for “fitting him up” and said his former special adviser Timothy Cairns and officials had not made him aware of what was happening.
He also claimed David Gordon, the Executive Office press secretary at the time, briefed that he was a “monster who had to be put to sleep”.
Mr Bell told the inquiry: “I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign. I have to say to you, I am just one boy. I can’t operate against the Executive Office.”
He claimed text messages between Mr Cairns and DUP leader Arlene Foster, as well as another special adviser Timothy Johnston, revealed Mr Cairns would “fit his story to whatever the party narrative was to be”.
And he further alleged Sky News Ireland correspondent David Blevins gave the DUP advice on how to discredit him, including by attacking his Christian faith.
In a statement, Sky News said: “The suggestion by Jonathan Bell that David Blevins advised the DUP on anything is completely and utterly untrue.”
The former politician told the inquiry he first became aware of issues with the scheme on August 24, 2015.
In September he signed an order for cost control measures with a four-week delay. However, he insisted he would have authorised it earlier if he had known of the consequences. There was a surge in applications, with almost 1,000 boilers accredited to the scheme between August and November.
In a statement, Mr Cairns told the inquiry he briefed the minister on July 8 before Mr Bell went on holiday. Mr Bell refuted that.
Mr Cairns also claimed the minister had limited availability between his family holiday to China in July and a trip to Portstewart in August.
Mr Bell said: “I was available for every meeting, every photocall, every business. [Civil servants] could have contacted me at any time ... but there was no attempt.”
He also claimed he was told the four-week delay in cost-cutting was necessary to get measures through.
And he alleged he had learned some DUP special advisers had an interest in keeping the scheme, without the cost-cutting measures, open for as long as possible.
I’m just one boy.. I can’t operate against the Executive Office JONATHAN BELL BELFAST YESTERDAY