THERE has been mixed reaction to the report by the former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, Dr Maurice Hayes, on the so-called Denton Affair.
The 28-page document, published yesterday, rejected the charge that the North's Economy and Agriculture Minister, Baroness Denton, had been motivated by sectarianism in seeking to have a Catholic civil servant transferred from her private office.
A Protestant official who was accused of sectarian harassment of her Catholic colleague had been retained. Subsequent to the transfer, the department admitted the Catholic official had been the victim of sectarian harassment and paid her £10,000.
In all, four cases involving staff deployment were examined in the report. Dr Hayes said there was evidence of "insensitivity in the handling of staff and poor personal relationships" as well as "a degree of unsureness in personnel management."
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, said the report "vindicates my earlier publicly expressed total confidence in Jean Denton."
Lady Denton, who has ministerial responsibility for fair employment, said in a statement: "I am delighted that the Hayes Report completely vindicates me from any insinuations of discrimination."
The SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, said Dr Hayes had raised several important criticisms including the finding that senior officials in the Department of Agriculture had misled the public.
"The report doesn't actually exonerate the Minister. It states clearly that she chose to use her prerogative to ignore advice from senior civil servants," he said.