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Ian Paisley is facing fresh calls to quit amid claims the DUP MP failed to declare another luxury holiday to the North’s parliamentary authorities.<\/p>\nIan Paisley is facing fresh calls to quit amid claims the DUP MP failed to declare another luxury holiday to the North’s parliamentary authorities.<\/p>\n
Political rivals have urged the North Antrim representative to resign after allegations he holidayed in the Maldives courtesy of the Indian Ocean nation\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
The DUP has pledged to examine the \u201cvery serious\u201d claims leveled in a BBC Spotlight NI investigation.<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley has denied the holiday was paid for by the Maldives government, instead insisting an unnamed friend part-funded the 2016 vacation.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in, the SDLP and Ulster Unionists have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone urging her to investigate the case.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in and the SDLP said Mr Paisley should resign and, if he did not, DUP leader Arlene Foster was obliged to take action against him.<\/p>\n
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister urged Mr Paisley to self-refer himself to the North’s standards commissioner.<\/p>\n
The claims aired by Spotlight came days after Mr Paisley returned to Parliament having served a 30-day suspension for failing to declare two holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government and lobbying on its behalf.<\/p>\n
He narrowly avoided facing a by-election after Parliament\u2019s first ever recall petition fell short of the number of constituent signatures required to oust him by around 450.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the latest claims, Sinn F\u00e9in vice president Michelle O\u2019Neill said the MP should have resigned \u201cmonths ago\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the latest in a long line of scandals associated with the DUP and Ian Paisley in particular,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Ian Paisley should have resigned many months ago and I think where he finds himself again today at the center of another scandal is not anything befitting of someone who holds public office.\u201d<\/p>\n
At last month\u2019s party conference in Belfast, DUP leader Mrs Foster apologized after acknowledging that standards of conduct within the party had fallen short in a number of areas.<\/p>\n
At a press conference today, Mrs O\u2019Neill said: \u201cI think that what we need to see now is more than fine words at a party conference, I think those fine words need to be acted upon and I think this will be the first test of Arlene Foster\u2019s comments at her party conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has called for Mr Paisley to quit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is time for Ian Paisley to resign,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he doesn\u2019t, then the onus is on Arlene Foster to remove him from the DUP.\u201d<\/p>\n
UUP leader and fellow North Antrim representative Robin Swann said: \u201cThere is an onus on Mr Paisley to cut the bluster and offer openness and transparency to the people of North Antrim. The allegations raised by Spotlight are extremely serious and deserve a credible response from Ian Paisley and the DUP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe DUP also need to be open about when they learned of these allegations and what they know. They cannot simply hide behind a statement saying they will investigate. This is yet another stain on North Antrim and the reputation of politics in Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Allister, a North Antrim Assembly member, said: \u201cThe circumstantial case raised by Spotlight is very persuasive and whereas he is entitled to more than \u2018trial by media\u2019, Mr Paisley now should refer himself to the North’s Parliamentary Standards Commissioner so that a considered verdict can be delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The party officers will want to consider these very serious matters being mindful of the high standards we require of elected representatives<\/p>\n
The trip under scrutiny came months after Mr Paisley traveled to the country on parliamentary business.<\/p>\n
The North Antrim representative had argued against sanctions being taken against the Maldives over alleged human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley denied the holiday was paid for by the authorities in the Maldives and said he is satisfied he did not need to declare the trip on the register of interests at Westminster.<\/p>\n
The MP said he paid for part of the holiday himself, while the rest was paid for by a long-term friend who was unconnected to his work.<\/p>\n
He declined to reveal the identity of the friend.<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley had been suspended from the DUP pending a party investigation into the Sri Lankan controversy, but the censure was subsequently lifted.<\/p>\n
I’m satisfied the vacation did not have to be recorded on the register<\/p>\n
This morning, a DUP spokesman said: \u201cThe party officers will want to consider these very serious matters being mindful of the high standards we require of elected representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement in response to the program, Mr Paisley said: \u201cThe government of the Maldives did not organize or pay for my family vacation in 2016, which I do not intend to go into with you.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m satisfied the vacation did not have to be recorded on the register.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley\u2019s record suspension from Parliament was imposed following the findings of an investigation by the standards commissioner Ms Stone.<\/p>\n
It is unknown whether she is investigating the latest claims, as she is prevented from publicly confirming details of any probe until it concludes.<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley has been MP for North Antrim since 2010.<\/p>\n
His father Ian Paisley, a former first minister of Northern Ireland and DUP leader, had previously held the seat since 1970.<\/p>\n