DUP Minister Gordon Lyons Apologizes for Remarks in Assembly

Gordon Lyons, a DUP Minister, has offered an apology for “sincerely offending” an Alliance MLA during a discussion held in the assembly chamber. On Monday, Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl stated that Mr. Lyons had twice instructed her to “sit down” by shouting during a debate concerning childcare funding. She characterized his actions as “aggressive and arrogant” and subsequently lodged a complaint with the assembly Speaker, Edwin Poots. After Mr. Lyons’ statement on Tuesday, Ms. Nicholl expressed her view that his remarks did not “qualify as an apology.” Addressing the assembly, Mr. Lyons acknowledged that concerns had been raised regarding his comments. He stated, “I do believe in the cut and thrust of debate we need to robustly challenge each other in this chamber – I can give it and I can take it, but I understand there are those in the chamber who I have perhaps sincerely offended.” He added, “I’m more than content to apologise for that, I do believe we need to continue that robust debate but I understand the concerns some have expressed today.” However, Ms. Nicholl dismissed these statements. On the social media platform Bluesky, she wrote, “He said it was the cut and thrust of debate and implied I couldn’t handle it.” She further elaborated, “My issue isn’t about a difference of political opinion, it’s about courtesy and aggressively interrupting me while I was making a point of order is not acceptable.” The event took place on Monday as the discussion regarding childcare was concluding. The deputy speaker instructed assembly members to “take their ease” prior to proceeding with the subsequent agenda item. Nevertheless, Ms. Nicholl rose and requested to raise a point of order, to which the deputy speaker responded, “go ahead.” Points of order serve as a procedural tool enabling assembly members to bring up issues related to the regulations of parliamentary conduct. Ms. Nicholl inquired if “it is in order for the minister of education to imply that Alliance ministers did not support the £25 million for childcare.” While Ms. Nicholl was speaking, Mr. Lyons rose and began exiting the chamber, passing by her location. Since he was not using a microphone, it was not discernible from the assembly’s live feed what he uttered as he departed. Nevertheless, subsequent to his departure, SDLP member Sinéad McLaughlin reported that Mr. Lyons “shouted over to [Nicholl] ‘sit down’.” Following the incident, Ms. Nicholl posted on social media, stating that Mr. Lyons’ comments were “Aggressive, arrogant and have to say – doubt it would have happened if I was a man.” On Tuesday, the Speaker informed MLAs that he wished to remind “members and ministers” about the importance of courtesy during debates. He further noted that on certain occasions on Monday, the conduct of MLAs “fell short.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.