Sinn Féin MLA 'failed to show leadership' in damaged portrait row

A Sinn Féin assembly member has been found to have breached Stormont's code of conduct after failing to declare her son was investigated over vandalism of a portrait.

Carál Ní Chuilín's son was interviewed by police after the painting of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer Lord Browne was damaged at Belfast City Hall in October 2024.

Naoise Ó Cuilín denied any involvement and the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) last year dropped the case due to "key gaps" in available evidence.

A report by the Northern Ireland Assembly's standards committee found Ní Chuilín, who has since apologised, "failed to uphold the principles of openness and leadership".

The portrait of Lord Browne, a former Belfast lord mayor, was damaged following an event at City Hall to celebrate an Irish-language group.

It was attended by a number of high-profile Sinn Féin figures.

Ó Cuilín quit his job as a Sinn Féin staff member at Stormont following the incident, which police investigated as a hate crime.

No prosecution was pursued by the PPS as it said "key gaps remained" in available evidence, including "no CCTV coverage" of the area around the portrait.

A solicitor for Ó Cuilín later dismissed the allegations against him as "entirely false, baseless and malicious".

The damage to the portrait became the focus of a political row at Stormont.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill defended her party's response, but Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP urged Sinn Féin to "tell the truth about what happened".

At a meeting of the Executive Office committee last November, Ó Cuilín was named by Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) assembly member Timothy Gaston following speculation over the Sinn Féin employee's identity.

He asked if Ní Chuilín "wants to make a declaration of interest", to which she responded: "I've nothing to declare, absolutely nothing to declare."

Ní Chuilín, who is also principal deputy speaker at Stormont, pointed to how assembly members were at the committee to discuss redress measures for victims of institutional abuse.

Complaints were made to the assembly standards commissioner Stephen Wright, whose investigation report was then considered by the standards committee - made up of members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).

In its report the committee found Ní Chuilín breached the code of conduct for MLAs by failing to declare a relevant interest.

It said that she had also "failed to uphold the Principles of Openness and Leadership".

"However, following receipt of the written apology from Ms Ní Chuilín, the committee is content to report to the assembly that the matter is now resolved," the report added.

In a statement the chair of the committee Cathy Mason said it takes allegations of breaches of the code "very seriously".

The Sinn Fein MLA added: "While the member was found to have breached the code, the committee noted that there were mitigating circumstances in this case.

"The member has stated that she is committed to maintaining the high standards required of members, will ensure that such a breach does not occur again and has apologised to the committee.

"I am therefore pleased that, following receipt of a written apology from the member, the committee has reported to the assembly that the matter has now been resolved.

"Arising from the case, the committee will also be recommending that further guidance is included in the code regarding the requirements on all MLAs to declare relevant interests."