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Naomi Long says Sinn Féin needs to ‘reflect’ after mention of former press secretary
Alliance leader Naomi Long said Sinn Féin still had questions to answer over its handling of a controversial CV provided to former spokesperson Michael McMonagle.
In September, Mr McMonagle, of Limewood Street, Londonderry, admitted a series of child sex offences.
He worked for Sinn Féin until his arrest in 2021, when he was suspended and his employment contract subsequently terminated.
Mr McMonagle took up the job at the charity British Heart Foundation a year later after being introduced to him by two other former Sinn Féin press secretaries.
The party has been criticized for failing to warn charities about the police investigation into Mr McMonagle.
On Friday, Mr Long said parties like Sinn Féin needed to be able to “introspect” to consider what they could do better and what lessons could be learned in difficult circumstances. he said.
“I think Sinn Féin has questions to ask and questions to answer,” the justice minister said.
“For example, why didn’t they tell their new employer that the person in question was under investigation?
“I think this is an important issue and we need to reflect on whether it was appropriate.”
Meanwhile, it emerged that Mr McMonagle’s Stormont security pass was just canceled this week.
The council, which administers the pass, revealed that Sinn Féin did not return Mr McMonigle’s pass after his employment with the party was terminated in 2022.
As a result, we had to review the way we control passes.
Michael McMonagle is scheduled to be sentenced in November
In response to questions from BBC News NI, the council, which issues security passes, said it had not been informed of the allegations against McMonagle or his suspension and had “never been asked to suspend or cancel the passes.” ” he said.
He added that if the pass holder leaves the company, the pass sponsor (party or member of parliament) must return the pass, but “that was not done in this case.”
The council also confirmed that Mr McMonagle did not use his Stormont Pass when he attended an event at the building while working for the British Heart Foundation, which was attended by deputy leader of Sinn Féin. Michelle O’Neill was also in attendance.
The council said he used a one-day visitor pass.
“To prevent a situation like this from happening again, a parliamentary committee has reviewed the steps routinely taken to ensure that MLAs and party workers’ passes are returned at the end of their employment,” the spokesperson said. said.
Sinn Féin has been contacted for comment.
Michael McMonagle (highlighted on the far left) attended the same event as Michelle O’Neill (wearing a pink jacket with her back to the camera)
Mr O’Neill previously denied knowing that Mr McMonagle had taken up a new position at the British Heart Foundation, despite him attending the same event in 2023.
“I had no idea Michael McMonagle was at that event,” the first minister said.
“We go to the hall with some guys, but he hasn’t been on my radar at all since he was disciplined.
“I can say with confidence that I had no knowledge of Michael McMonagle’s whereabouts. I was there to campaign and support the bill.”
When asked if there were any questions for Mr O’Neill to answer about what he knew about McMonagle, Mr Long said that was a question for the first minister to answer.
“It’s not for me to judge what Michelle knew or didn’t know,” she said.
“What I would say organizationally is that in light of what happened, I think all organizations need to reflect on how they would deal with similar situations and what they can learn from this current catastrophe. .”
Seeking “more transparency”
On Friday, Education Minister Paul Givan, from the Democratic Unionist Party, said Sinn Féin needed to be “more transparent” on the issue.
Earlier this week, Sinn Féin Minister Conor Murphy defended his party’s response to the incident.
He said the party did not alert the British Heart Foundation about McMonagle because it could not do anything that could “potentially have a negative impact” on the police investigation.
However, at Thursday’s Police Commission meeting, Chief Constable John Boucher refuted the claims, saying he did not want to engage in political “retaliation”.
Mr Jivan said Mr Murphy should “come forward and apologize” for the allegations.
“I think it’s clear that when it comes to safety issues and child protection in particular, we need to make sure there’s no confusion about what the public should do in these situations and how political parties should respond.” he added.
