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Stormont\u2019s First Minister has called on the Deputy First Minister to apologize over an IRA veteran\u2019s funeral that saw hundreds of people line the streets.<\/p>\nStormont\u2019s First Minister has called on the Deputy First Minister to apologize over an IRA veteran\u2019s funeral that saw hundreds of people line the streets.<\/p>\n
Arlene Foster\u2019s comments come as Michelle O\u2019Neill faces calls to resign after she and party colleagues attended Bobby Storey\u2019s funeral in west Belfast on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Police are investigating potential breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules that restrict outdoor public gatherings to 30 people.<\/p>\n
A picture posted on social media by a Sinn F\u00e9in branch in the Irish Republic showed Ms O\u2019Neill posing for a selfie close to two men, one of whom had his arm on her shoulder. The picture was subsequently deleted.<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster said the scenes at the funeral and apparent lack of social distancing had \u201cundermined the credibility\u201d of Stormont\u2019s Covid-19 guidance.<\/p>\n
The DUP leader said it sent out a message of \u201cdo as I say and not as I do\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs to apologize and recognize the wrong that has been done and she absolutely needs to make amends for what happened yesterday and take steps to try and build up that credibility again,\u201d said Mrs Foster.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really regretful that we are talking about this today.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people have had to go to through mourning and grief during this time and haven\u2019t had the comfort of people coming to their homes, they haven\u2019t had the comfort of a full service, yesterday they asked \u2018well why was that the case?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill said the funeral had taken place \u201cin accordance\u201d with coronavirus guidelines.<\/p>\n
She has defended the event, saying the cortege only had 30 people in it and social distancing inside the church was \u201cexemplary\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier, UK Secretary of State Brandon Lewis questioned the attendance of Ms O\u2019Neill and other Sinn F\u00e9in executive ministers.<\/p>\n
Mr Lewis said he understood that some people were \u201cfrustrated and angry\u201d at what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a bit surprised\u2026 when you are saying to people \u2018you\u2019ve got to follow those guidelines\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have given so many sacrifices over the last couple of months, particularly in Northern Ireland where we have seen people really strongly following the guidelines, we\u2019ve seen lower levels of things because people are following those guidelines so well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am surprised we would have someone from the executive of any description being in a position where it would be perceived to be that they are not doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told BBC Radio Ulster: \u201cI can understand people\u2019s frustrations. It\u2019s not something I would have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill insisted everything was done \u201cin accordance with the guidelines\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegrettably a considerable number of family members were unable to take part in the cortege as a result of the current restrictions, like many other families who have been unable to properly grieve or mourn the loss of a loved one in a traditional way as a result of the Covid crisis,\u201d she told the Irish News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese restrictions have been very difficult for families who have lost a loved one and particularly those who lost a loved one during the period when society was in lockdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Stormont health minister Robin Swann said the funeral must not become Northern Ireland\u2019s \u201cDominic Cummings moment\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Swann said the scenes in Andersonstown, where roadsides were packed with people as the cortege carrying Mr Storey passed by, was a clear breach of Stormont restrictions.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald and former leader Gerry Adams were among other high-profile party members at the service and a later commemoration event at Milltown cemetery.<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill in particular has faced strong criticism from political rivals in Northern Ireland, given her role as the joint head of a Stormont Executive that has been instructing people to limit the size of funerals during the lockdown.<\/p>\n
Mr Swann\u2019s weekly Covid-19 media conference was dominated by the issue on Tuesday as he was challenged on whether the executive\u2019s credibility had been undermined.<\/p>\n
He was asked if the incident could lead the public to question the point of abiding by the rules \u2013 the way some people did after the Prime Minister\u2019s top adviser Mr Cummings was accused of breaching regulations during a trip to the north-east of England during lockdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sincerely hope that this isn\u2019t the Dominic Cummings effect in Northern Ireland because in our health service we can\u2019t afford it to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n