Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has been found to have breached the ministerial code over a Facebook post he made during the rioting last June. As this report from the BBC says,
“…Gordon Lyons breached the ministerial code over a social media post which led to complaints he inflamed tensions over immigration in County Antrim last year, Stormont’s standards commissioner has found. An independent investigation said Lyons’ actions fell short of standards on leadership, accountability and community relations. The commissioner found that rather than defusing the situation, his post “may have heightened tensions and contributed to further unrest”.
The Belfast Telegraph report on the matter summarises it as follows
The week of unrest began in Ballymena after a vigil for a teenage girl on June 9, who was alleged to have been assaulted by two teenage Romanian boys, turned violent.Rioters were seen attacking the homes of those believed to be immigrants leading to a number of victims being housed at Larne Leisure Centre under emergency protocols. On June 11 Mr Lyons took to Facebook where he posted about the location of the families and added that “neither I nor my DUP council colleagues were made aware or consulted with on this decision until late this afternoon”. Masked youths attacked the site that same day by setting it ablaze and smashing a number of windows with projectiles.
The same report quotes Mr.Lyons and the DUP itself…
“Despite the noise in the media today and the predictable attacks from my political opponents, I won’t be distracted…My dedication to the people of East Antrim is absolute and I make no apology for continuing to stand up for them and speak up for them.”
The DUP also defended Mr Lyons and said his post was appropriate, factual and aimed at de-escalation of a difficult situation.A spokesperson said: “Gordon Lyons MLA was fully entitled to publish the social media post that he did. “Conclusions made by the Commissioner should be based on evidence and fact however much of this report is speculative and conjecture.”
Political opponents from other Executive parties are quoted in the BBC report as responding to the findings…
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew…said the commission’s findings were “damning”. Gildernew said Lyons “should immediately accept and acknowledge his failure”.
Alliance North Antrim MLA Sian Mulholland welcomed the findings.”When law and order breaks down, it is always the most vulnerable who suffer the most,” Mulholland said.”For the communities minister to make such a reckless, irresponsible post at a time when community tensions were already so heightened represents an abject failure of leadership, and we welcome these findings from the Standards Commissioner.”
SDLP opposition leader at Stormont Matthew O’Toole called on Gordon Lyons to resign, saying
“Gordon Lyons acted in breach of the ministerial code at a time when vulnerable people were sheltering for safety in a leisure centre in his constituency in the midst of racially motivated violence. His lack of empathy for people forced out of their homes, while acting as housing minister, is given particular mention by the Commissioner in her report.The Commissioner finds that the minister ‘may have heightened tensions and contributed to further unrest’. That is a shocking indictment.”
It is up to the Assembly as a whole to decide if there will be any consequences for the Minister as a result of the finding.
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