Lord Duncan of Springbank. Image, BBC, fair use.
The government continues to contort its normal rules in order to cover up a secret donation to the DUP, openDemocracy can reveal. In the House of Lords last week, a Northern Ireland Office minister appeared to leave the door open to the government honouring a previous commitment to publish details of all major donations to Northern Irish parties since 2014 – including a £435,000 donation to the DUP ahead of the European referendum. However, officials have undermined his claims.
In response to concerns raised by peers that the government was covering up for the DUP, the Northern Ireland Office minister Lord Duncan of Springbank told the House of Lords last week: “Right now, we are not ruling out the re-examination of the period that precedes 1 July 2017. Indeed, the draft order will allow consideration of it... We will not rule anything in or out on that point. I stress that. It is important that we recognise it.”
