DUP leader Peter Robinson, who has been accused of benefiting from the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio, is to appear before the Stormont inquiry into the transaction later this month.
Mr Robinson on Thursday confirmed to the finance committee chairman, Sinn Féin’s Daithí McKay, he was available to attend on October 14th.
Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson alleged before the committee that Mr Robinson was one of five people due to benefit from a £7 million "success fee" lodged in an Isle of Man bank account linked to the sale.
Mr Robinson, who stepped aside as first minister last month while crisis talks to save devolved government take place, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing as a result of the sale of Northern Ireland’s Nama loan book. He described Mr Bryson’s claims as “lacking credibility” and “scurrilous and unfounded”.
The Stormont inquiry was set up after Independent TD Mick Wallace first raised concerns in the Dáil in July about millions of pounds allegedly being “earmarked” for a Northern Ireland politician.
Conference call
The Government released details on Wednesday night about a conference call between Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, first minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, on January 14th, 2014.
Sinn Féin on Thursday responded by saying the call was a matter of public record. Mr McGuinness previously said it was “absolutely misleading” for the DUP to suggest he was kept informed about a bid by Pimco, a prospective but ultimately unsuccessful US buyer.
“Martin McGuinness did not consent to any correspondence referred to in the note of the call with Minister Noonan,” a Sinn Féin spokesman said. “He was kept in the dark of the nature and extent of meetings and correspondence on this matter.”
DUP MLA Simon Hamilton said, “The revelation that Martin McGuinness was present when proposals concerning protecting Northern Ireland interests in any sale of the Nama Northern Ireland portfolio were discussed blows a massive hole in the credibility of the Deputy First Minister’s evidence to the Finance and Personnel Committee”.
Clarify position
Mr Hamilton said he believed the evidence demonstrated that Mr McGuinness’s knowledge “went far beyond what he has previously been prepared to admit”.
He called on Mr McGuinness to clarify his position “before other information about his involvement and state of knowledge about the sale of the Nama Northern Ireland portfolio comes to light”.
In response, Sinn Féin MLA Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, a Stormont finance committee member, challenged Mr Hamilton, a former finance minister, to appear before the inquiry.
“There is a paper trail, which shows clearly that the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was excluded from a number of meetings on the sale of Nama’s Northern portfolio,” he added.
“There is also a so-called memorandum of understanding, which was sent to the Finance Minister in Dublin, which wasn’t agreed or consented to by Martin McGuinness or brought before the Executive,” he said.
