Ministers didn’t sleepwalk into pandemic

By Jayne McCormack

BBC News NI political correspondent

Worn first minister Baroness Foster has rejected ideas the Northern Ireland Executive “sleepwalked” into the pandemic.

The say was once build to her by counsel on the UK Covid-19 inquiry.

Clair Dobbin KC acknowledged it was once “genuinely subtle” to worship why customary response plans weren’t activated by the point the pandemic was once declared.

Baroness Foster acknowledged the idea that “we could presumably maybe present constituents to this in a wilful map is upright offensive, frankly”.

She acknowledged she “completely and and completely” rejected the say, as the executive had been particular to work for the folk of Northern Ireland.

The weak first minister insisted the executive had been receiving recommendation from health officials, and that the Division of Neatly being was once taking the lead on the initial response to the virus.

Baroness Foster was once Northern Ireland’s first minister from 2016 to 2017 and all the map throughout the pandemic from January 2020 unless she resigned on 14 June 2021.

She was once leader of the Democratic Unionist Celebration (DUP) from 2016 to 2022.

Earlier, she told the inquiry she authorised accountability for a design the executive handled the Covid pandemic, pronouncing Northern Ireland must smooth dangle locked down before it did to forestall more deaths.

But she added: “We felt we had time and we didn’t dangle time, and that’s the reason a provide of wide feel sorry about.”

Here’s no longer the first time Baroness Foster has looked before the inquiry.

In July 2023 she acknowledged the UK authorities must smooth dangle stepped in to dangle choices within the absence of ministers at Stormont from 2017 to 2020.

Neatly being officials dangle acknowledged the absence of ministers impacted the preparedness for health emergencies.

On Wednesday, Baroness Foster told the inquiry she agreed with feedback by Michelle O’Neill, who is now first minister but was once deputy first minister from January 2020 unless February 2022, that there was once “by and wide no proper oversight” at Stormont around planning for the early phases of the pandemic.

But she told the inquiry she felt she had given the leadership required all the map through her time as first minister.

“It was once doubtlessly essentially the most subtle interval of my political profession, facing Covid was once essentially the most tough, but we tried to build our most effective foot forward,” she added.

The inquiry moreover heard Baroness Foster puzzled about her occasion’s controversial utilize of a immoral-neighborhood vote mechanism in autumn 2020, to forestall some Covid tips from being prolonged.

The stressful four-day executive assembly has already been the focus of proof from other witnesses, who criticised the DUP for the utilize of it as a system of vetoing the measures.

The inquiry was once proven a textual thunder material message despatched by the executive medical officer on 10 November 2020, within the midst of the debate.

He described it as “politics at its worst” and that they dangle to smooth “hold their heads in shame”, although he didn’t teach about with any individual in say.

Ms Dobbin build it to Baroness Foster: “While you happen to see these views from a senior authentic – the executive medical officer field out in shadowy and white relating to at least one amongst essentially the most serious junctures of the pandemic – does that field off you a moment of reflection about the leadership you equipped?”

Baroness Foster replied: “More than a moment’s reflection, the executive medical officer like all of us was once exhausted by that stage, he labored so diligently for the executive throughout the pandemic.

“It saddens me vastly to dangle a look at these textual thunder material messages and brings me attend to what we were going through – it was once an incredibly subtle point.”

Baroness Foster was once moreover asked about the feedback of weak DUP minister Edwin Poots when he claimed transmission of the virus was once better in nationalist areas.

In October 2020, Mr Poots sparked a backlash after pronouncing the adaptation in transmission between nationalist and unionist areas was once “around six to at least one”, but later insisted he didn’t hyperlink the virus with religion.

Baroness Foster was once asked whether she in any appreciate sought to sanction or quit him on the time in her role as DUP leader.

She replied: “Edwin is terribly necessary his like particular person through his opinions, but or no longer it’s no longer a look I shared and he knew it was once no longer a look I shared – and indeed it wasn’t a look shared by the other DUP ministers either.”

She moreover authorised that ruin was once carried out to public self assurance by the DUP’s utilize of the immoral-neighborhood vote to dam some restrictions from being prolonged in autumn 2020.

She described it as a “blunt design” but one which she felt was once major on the time.

On the other hand she acknowledged she regretted the executive ended up in that field, adding that “relationships nearly broke down”.

“It was once subtle to belief from the originate air but it no doubt was once torturous internal and I am hoping we by no system fetch to a field of a four-day assembly of the executive again,” she told the inquiry

On Tuesday Ms O’Neill looked on the inquiry.

Within the future of the listening to she apologised for attending senior republican Bobby Storey’s funeral all the map through lockdown, when she was once serving as deputy first minister.

The weak first and deputy first ministers fell out over the funeral, with the then DUP leader abandoning their joint news conferences for around two months.

On the other hand, they ended their usually subtle political relationship on appropriate terms in accordance to Whatsapp messages launched by the inquiry.

The day before Baroness Foster’s resignation as DUP leader following an internal coup, Ms O’Neill despatched her a textual thunder material pronouncing: “I’m genuinely sorry must you do now not fetch to bow out the system you had deliberate. Politics is successfully no longer a easy path.”

Baroness Foster replied: “Thanks Michelle. Upright felt that you just must maybe smooth know.”

Three weeks later the weak DUP leader thanked Ms O’Neill for a card and items prompting the retort: “Probabilities are you’ll presumably very successfully be welcome. Scheme shut care.”

The weak Police Carrier of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer who led the police response to the pandemic moreover looked on the inquiry on Wednesday.

Alan Todd was once an assistant chief constable and in March 2020 he was once positioned responsible of day-to-day policing of the pandemic.

He defended the PSNI’s handling of the funeral of Mr Storey, but he acknowledged folk that attended breached Covid tips and that he didn’t deem there was once a “policing resolution” to it.

“The tournament undermined self assurance within the very folk making the regulations and it was once by no system going to dangle it more straightforward for the physique charged with enforcing them [the PSNI],” he added.

Mr Todd moreover expressed concerns that the police became the “lightning rod” for folk questioning or asking for explanation of usually confusing Covid regulations.

“The desire of media interviews I was once being asked to attain, to point to regulations I didn’t write and present an explanation for steering I wasn’t given, we felt was once changing into an increasing risk for us as a police provider,” he told the inquiry.

Despite PSNI requests for enhance from other authorities our bodies a lot like councils to abet put into effect regulations, Mr Todd acknowledged: “Police felt there wasn’t an extended queue of oldsters lining as a lot as abet them.”

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