Assembly backs no confidence motion in Gordon Lyons

The Northern Ireland Assembly has backed a no-confidence motion in Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

It comes after the DUP minister was criticised in a report by former independent Assembly commissioner for standards Melissa McCullough.

The report found Mr Lyons had breached the ministerial code of conduct through social media comments made during rioting in Ballymena.

He was investigated over a Facebook post he published in June after immigrant families were forced to flee their homes during racially-motivated riots.

Mr Lyons has said he had been responding to a police request to let it be known that the fleeing families who had been sheltering at Larne Leisure Centre were no longer doing so, as the facility came under attack.

But Ms McCullough’s report found Mr Lyons’ actions had the potential of “heightening tensions and exacerbating an already contentious situation”.

Mr Lyons has claimed that the report contains contradictions, while DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the findings as “totally irrational”.

In the Assembly on Tuesday, Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole said this had been the second occasion that Mr Lyons had been found to be in breach of the ministerial code.

This referred to a finding in 2024 that Mr Lyons had breached the code over not attending north-south ministerial council meetings. That came as part of a wider DUP boycott in protest at post-Brexit arrangements.

Mr O’Toole said as a result of “this repeated failure to uphold the standards expected of public office holders”, the minister “no longer commands the confidence of this Assembly”.

“Not only has the minister not resigned, the minister has not seen fit to apologise or even offer one word of reflection or learning,” he told MLAs.

The motion also said Mr Lyons’ “refusal to accept responsibility for his actions represents a wider crisis of accountability in the Executive and a deeper cultural problem in our politics”, and that current accountability standards are “inadequate”.

It added that the Assembly would write to both Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Tanaiste Simon Harris calling for institutional reform at Stormont.

The Assembly saw some stormy exchanges, accusations of lack of empathy with those impacted by the riots in Ballymena as well as political posturing.

Sinn Fein MLA Colm Gildernew described a “poorly judged Facebook post”, which he claimed “at no point in his post did the minister show any compassion for the victims of this hate-filled violence”.

He also pointed out that the Communities committee, which he chairs, previously voted they had no confidence in the minister.

“That position has been fully vindicated,” he added.

Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson described the rioting last June as a “festival of violence” and a “race-based pogrom on our streets”, adding he “took great exception to those claiming this is a trivial matter”.

“I am sick, sore and tired of Members traipsing into this chamber and engaging in culture wars, and scapegoating minorities for their failures,” he said.

“His (Mr Lyons) since has been nothing more than arrogance and contempt, blaming the standards commissioner, blaming the police, blaming the politicians who dare to call him to order or to question his motives, it is disgraceful and it is shameful.”

However DUP MLA Pam Cameron said the motion is “not about addressing racism, it’s about political opportunism at a time when people across Northern Ireland are struggling to access healthcare”.

UUP leader Jon Burrows queried the usage of resources on the matter of a “Facebook post sent at the request of police”.

“Could it have been drafted better, could it have been more precise, is there any learning? I’m sure there is,” he told MLAs.

“There are many things for us to do in this place, and drive up high standards is one of them, but this is wasteful, self-indulgent and unnecessary.”

Responding, Mr Lyons described a “charade, dressed up as a debate on standards in public life”, adding he rejected Ms McCullough’s report.

He also said he had, and has, “deep compassion” for the families affected by the rioting.

“What they experienced was wrong. I have always stood against violence and intimidation,” he told MLAs.

“My record is not one of justifying or excusing violence, and I have consistently advocated support for the police, the courts and the rule of law.

“I have no truck with anyone who would seek to harm others, and it is particularly abhorrent when it is done because of the colour of someone’s skin or their nationality.”

He also added a note of caution that the investigation against him may discourage public representatives from engaging directly with the public during times of crisis.

MLAs voted for the motion by 51 to 29.

However the motion is not binding and carries no direct consequences.