North’s finance minister ‘chillaxed’ about bid to link him to inquiry

Stormont’s Minister for Finance has insisted he has no questions to answer over a party colleague’s controversial contact with a witness to an inquiry examining Northern Ireland’s biggest property deal.

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said he was “totally chillaxed” about attempts to link him to the controversy that forced the resignation of Daithí McKay, the former Sinn Féin chairman of the Assembly’s finance committee.

“Whether I am mentioned two times or 200 times, I had no knowledge of the communications,” said Mr Ó Muilleoir.

Mr McKay apologised and quit as an Assembly member for North Antrim after private Twitter messages published in the press showed him communicating with loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson ahead of his appearance before the committee's inquiry into the Nama loans deal.

Cerberus deal

The deal two years ago between Nama and US investment giant Cerberus, involving the £1.2 billion sale of a Northern Ireland property loan portfolio, has been dogged by controversy after £7 million linked to it was found in an Isle of Man bank account.

Sinn Féin worker Thomas O’Hara was also suspended by the party, accused of coaching Mr Bryson before he made claims to the finance committee about the efforts of Nama to dispose of its Northern Ireland portfolio to US investors.

During a lengthy appearance before the Assembly’s finance scrutiny committee, Mr Ó Muilleoir added: “I had no knowledge of the communications, no hand, act or part in the correspondence or exchange between Messrs Bryson, O’Hara and McKay.”

The Sinn Féin leadership has denied knowing anything of the back-channel contacts.