Standards Committee recommends sanction against Steve Aiken

Former UUP leader Dr Steve Aiken has been recommended for exclusion from Assembly proceedings for two sitting days over an “egregious breach” of the members’ code of conduct.

The Committee for Standards and Privileges has tabled a motion in the Assembly with the recommendation.

It follows a complaint from Sinn Fein MLA Maoliosa McHugh about comments made by Dr Aiken during a livestreamed meeting of the Finance Committee.

It centred around claims that Dr Aiken had raised a complaint that he had made about Mr McHugh, alleging the Sinn Fein politician or his office had not made a declaration of interest relating to being in receipt of a small business grant loan during sittings involving the Land and Property Services or the Department of Finance.

Mr McHugh said that Dr Aiken’s disclosure of both the fact and the contents of the complaint were in breach of members’ rules.

The complaint was investigated by the independent Assembly Commissioner for Standards Dr Melissa McCullough.

Following consideration of her investigation report, in March 2022, the then Standards Committee concluded that Dr Aiken had breached the code through the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information relating to a live complaint and by failing to co-operate at all times with the commissioner’s investigation.

It said Dr Aiken, as a member of the Standards Committee, should have been “leading by example”.

A successive Standards Committee has recommended the sanction that Dr Aiken be excluded from Assembly proceedings for a period of two sitting days.

The current committee chairperson Sinn Fein MLA Caral Ni Chuilin said: “Whilst the committee takes all breaches of the code very seriously, it noted the conclusion of the last committee that this was an egregious breach given the particular circumstances of the case.

“I am therefore pleased that the committee has agreed to recommend to the Assembly that it imposes what we consider to be an appropriate and proportionate sanction.”

The committee’s motion is to be debated in the Assembly on May 7.