“She will soon be listening to my lawyers..”
Fair Deal and Mick have already mentioned this but there’s another point of interest to note. Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey threatened to set his lawyers on Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie for her comments about Robert McCartney’s murder [Whatever happened to the previous writ? - Ed], but with parliamentary privilege in play he had to settle for a gentle chiding of the minister by the Speaker, the DUP’s Willie Hay – as Newton Emerson noted on Saturday.
There were angry exchanges in the Assembly when SDLP minister Margaret Ritchie told Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey that she can hardly look at him without thinking of the murder of Robert McCartney. “She will soon be listening to my lawyers,” Mr Maskey blustered, twice. If so, she will surely hear that Stormont has full parliamentary privilege and members can say anything they like without fear of litigation. Doesn’t Mr Maskey know this? When the privilege was granted in 1999, he gave The Irish News an interview about it.
The interview, or rather quotes, from Alex Maskey complaining about parliamentary privilege being extended to the Assembly is available online in Google’s cache – original article here [subs req]. And here are the original comments, lawyers threats, ruling and studio discussion from today’s Stormont Live.
Touch a raw nerve eh?
I seem to remember Mr Maskey coming onto the TV the following day complaining about police brutality and heavy-handedness as the cops went about trying to find evidence regarding the murder.
Only in NI…
“She will soon be listening to my lawyers,” Mr Maskey blustered, twice.
My lawyers, plural. It didn’t take the jumped-up corner boys of SF to learn the jargon did it? How many lawyers does Mr Maskey retain? And how are they paid for, by legal aid?
Maskey, the corner boy acting tough…pity Poor Speaker Willie ‘Skip Hire’ Hay had to do the bidding of the Shinners and admonish the wee spinster, Margaret.
Another own goal by the stoops! They are fast becoming an irrelevancy in the nationalist community.Its hard to differentiate between the SDLP and the Unionist parties at this stage. If they carry on like this they will be trounced in the Euro’s next year and will continue on their current path into oblivion.
Goodness we can only barely begin to imagine what she thought every time she had to ook at Paisley. Ohhh the sufferrings of that poor lady!
Big Maggie: And how are they paid for, by legal aid?
They aren’t his. He’s just looking after them for a friend who has access to legal aid.
LOL @ circles and reader!
Re Paisley, Quentin Letts has a priceless piece on his Common’s speech in today’s Daily Mail.