First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said sorry for attending the funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey, telling the Covid Inquiry she “ought not have went”.
In a climbdown from her previous insistence that she would “never apologise for attending the funeral of a friend”, the Sinn Féin deputy leader conceded that her actions had undermined the health message around public gatherings.
Mr Storey’s large-scale June 2020 funeral triggered a huge political row at the height of the pandemic and led to a deterioration in the already-strained relations within the Stormont Executive.
In the aftermath of the controversy, the first minister Arlene Foster declined to take part in the joint press conferences that had up to then been a mainstay of lockdown.
During his evidence to the inquiry on Monday, Health Minister Robin Swann said the presence of Sinn Féin ministers at the funeral contributed to the public’s loss of confidence in the Stormont executive.
Ms O’Neill’s apology comes after her then executive colleague Carál Ní Chuilín voiced similar sentiments at the inquiry last week.
Appearing at the inquiry on Tuesday, Ms O’Neill said she was sorry for attending the west Belfast funeral and sorry for the anger it caused.
“I know that my actions also angered the families and for that I’m truly sorry. I am sorry for going and I’m sorry for the harm that’s been caused after (it),” she said.
Asked if she realised the anger that going to the funeral would cause, she said: “I didn’t but I ought to have”.
She said she had previously said how sorry she was.
“I am absolutely, from the bottom of my heart, sorry,” she said.
“I do accept wholeheartedly that I in some way damaged our Executive relations with colleagues who had been working very hard with me the whole way through, and I also accept wholeheartedly that I damaged the public health messaging and I had work to do to regain that.”
However, Ms O’Neill contested inquiry chair Baroness Hallett’s assertion that her criticisms of former British prime minister Boris Johnson and allegations of lockdown parties at Downing Street were “hypocritical”.
“I don’t think so because they are two very different things in terms of the Boris Johnson approach of partying the whole way through the pandemic and drinking their way through it, to be quite blunt,” the first minister said.
She added that she had attended the senior republican’s funeral “under the understanding of the regulations at that time”.
“But I do accept wholeheartedly that I in some way damaged our Executive relations with colleagues who had been working very hard with me the whole way through.”
She said she attended the funeral on a personal invitation, with a cortege of 30 people.
Under questioning from lead inquiry counsel Clair Dobbin KC, Ms O’Neill denied “playing politics” during the pandemic.
She told the inquiry she believed she gave good leadership during the health emergency.
The inquiry was shown a March 2020 WhatsApp exchange between the first minister and her predecessor Baroness Foster.
The messages reveal the former DUP leader challenging Ms O’Neill over criticism of Health Minister Robin Swann amid the debate on school closures.
“It is hugely disappointing but unfortunately I’m not surprised,” Baroness Foster said
But Ms O’Neill responded: “It’s too serious to tolerate. Lives will be lost. Start listening.”
In her evidence to the inquiry, the Sinn Féin deputy leader rejected the suggestion she was playing politics.
“We had a difference of approach, that’s not politicking, (it’s) about what’s the right way and what’s the wrong way,” she said.
Ms O’Neill also rejected the suggestion from Ms Dobbin that she had “blamed others” throughout her witness statement.
“I accept that I point out where I think things were wrong and in particular I do believe that my position is vindicated in terms of the fact that Boris Johnson and the government were too slow to act at the start of the pandemic,” the first minister said.
She later accepted that she should have retained WhatsApp messages for the inquiry rather than wiping her phone but claimed that the official record of “decisions made” was still available.
Ms O’Neill said she had been agriculture minister and health minister previously, and she believed current Justice Minister Naomi Long had the same approach because of sensitive information.
Ms Dobbin said Ms O’Neill’s statement to the inquiry suggests she used messages for logistical matters but not about the response to the pandemic.
When pressed buy counsel over whether this was the case, she said the statement was “referring to be able to understand that everything is recorded in terms of decisions on the official record”.
“I’m happy to correct that if you think that that’s appropriate,” she said.
Ms Dobbin said Ms O’Neill “might be satisfied, but this inquiry doesn’t have the chance to be satisfied about what’s contained on your device”.
