A FORMER Northern Ireland Office (NIO) minister has defended a leading Stormont civil servant, Mr Gerry Loughran, against criticism by Baroness Denton. Mr Richard Needham said Mr Loughran epitomised the best of the civil servants in Northern Ireland.
Baroness Denton, the former economy minister, had complained that senior civil servants in Northern Ireland had attempted to keep her away from the real decision making process at Stormont.
She focused on Mr Loughran, secretary of the Department of Economic Development. He is the North's most senior Catholic civil servant and one of the leading contenders to fill the post of head of the civil service following the retirement of Sir David Fell.
The baroness said Mr Loughran had advised her that she should "pack her bags" at the height of a sectarian harassment case at her office.
Baroness Denton also implied that she did not get sufficient briefing from his office.
"Things came out very much in dribs and drabs about what was happening," she told the BBC Hearts and Minds programme on Thursday. The baroness yesterday denied she was attempting to undermine Mr Loughran's promotional chances.
Yesterday Mr Richard Needham, a former NIO economy minister and Tory colleague of Baroness Denton, defended Mr Loughran. He said Mr Loughran had a "very strong opinion" on how issues should be tackled.
He and Mr Loughran had "some fairly good standup discussions. But I have to say that Gerry Loughran is one of the most admirable, competent, interesting, reliable men I have met in my life. I would go into any war and have Gerry Loughran alongside me, behind me, or in front of me.
"You could not find somebody, who I think epitomises the best of the civil servants in Northern Ireland better than Gerry," said Mr Needham.
An NIO spokesman said Mr Loughran would be making no comment, in line with the convention that civil servants did not respond to such criticism. The NIO Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, also declined to comment.
