Iris Robinson cleared of wrongdoing by council

Iris Robinson has been cleared of wrongdoing over the awarding of a council business deal to her former teenage lover, Kirk McCambley The wife of the Northern Ireland first minister, Peter Robinson, has been cleared of wrongdoing over the awarding of a council business deal to her former teenage lover. The review followed revelations that Iris Robinson had arranged £50,000 in secret loans for 19-year-old Kirk McCambley so he could open a cafe on the banks of the River Lagan in Belfast. The cafe was leased from Castlereagh borough council where she was a Democratic Unionist Party representative. Robinson’s political career ended after the scandal broke last year. She left the council, gave up her seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly and stood down as MP for Strangford. But on Thursday evening councillors given a private briefing on the review said it cleared the council and its representatives, including Robinson, of wrongdoing. The DUP leader on the council, Jimmy Spratt, said: “This report brings this chapter in the history of Castlereagh Borough Council to a close.” He added: “There is no evidence of wrongdoing by officers of the council or either past or current councillors.” The disgraced former “First Lady” of Ulster politics left public life last year and moved to London for several months where she received counselling. She returned to the public sphere last week when she accompanied her husband, the leader of the DUP, at the dinner hosted for the Queen in Dublin by Irish president Mary McAleese. Spratt said: “Over the last 14 months, Iris, Peter and their family have been in our thoughts and prayers and we were delighted that Iris felt able to attend the banquet to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s visit to the Irish Republic last week. “We send her continued best wishes for a full recovery.” Ireland Iris Robinson David Batty guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 26, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.