:00:32. > :00:35.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today where nothing causes division quite
:00:35. > :00:37.like the issue of unity. And it's the Ulster Unionists who are
:00:37. > :00:43.getting themselves into a bind with David McNarry cast into the
:00:43. > :00:52.wilderness. And a leader who's unrepentant. Clearly once you see
:00:52. > :01:02.someone talk about the possibility in the future of the DUP Golding
:01:02. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:11.beat First -- holding the First Minister's post it is beyond a joke.
:01:11. > :01:18.From a new position in the chamber, Mr McNarry can still see the funny
:01:18. > :01:23.side. It is called on this side of the house, if there is anything you
:01:23. > :01:26.can do to warm it up I would be very grateful. And we talk Irish
:01:26. > :01:29.language and ask where is the promised Irish language Act? So is
:01:29. > :01:33.David McNarry a scapegoat for unhappiness in the UUP ranks? Did
:01:33. > :01:35.he get what he deserved or did he over-react? We'll hear from him in
:01:35. > :01:38.a moment. But first, our political correspondent Martina Purdy spoke
:01:38. > :01:45.to Tom Elliott this afternoon. She began by asking him what it was
:01:45. > :01:51.about the Belfast Telegraph interview that had annoyed him.
:01:51. > :01:58.Ulster Unionist Party have been calling for better it union --
:01:58. > :02:02.unity in the party. David McNarry had intimated to me that he was
:02:02. > :02:08.carrying out an interview with the Belfast Telegraph the following day
:02:08. > :02:13.and I said to him to use the line issued on the press statement but
:02:13. > :02:20.unfortunately he went above and beyond that. There was no way he
:02:20. > :02:26.was not talking to the DUP. He was the liaison officer. He went beyond
:02:26. > :02:32.his remit. A what specifically did he say to upset the party? The area
:02:32. > :02:37.I wanted to deal with was to ensure that members were informed of any
:02:37. > :02:42.talks or progress so that they would not read it in the media.
:02:42. > :02:47.Just a few days before I had updated the party Executive on any
:02:48. > :02:52.discussions we were having with other parties and progress on the
:02:52. > :02:57.justice minister review. Clearly, once you see someone talk about the
:02:57. > :03:01.possibility in the future of the DUP holding the First Minister
:03:01. > :03:06.position and the Ulster Unionist Party holding the junior minister,
:03:06. > :03:13.that is way beyond the remit. used that line about junior
:03:13. > :03:20.ministers? That was a line he used. I think we need to be clear about
:03:20. > :03:25.this. David McNarry removed the deputy chair of the education
:03:25. > :03:30.committee. I did not remove the whip from him or suspend him. I
:03:30. > :03:33.have known him for a long time and a lot of our party members do not
:03:33. > :03:40.have the opportunity to have advised cheer or chairmanship of
:03:40. > :03:44.committee. All I was doing was the moving him in position. We did you
:03:44. > :03:49.first read the article? I was actually over in Scotland and I
:03:49. > :03:54.picked it up that morning and I saw it over in Scotland. Obviously I
:03:54. > :03:59.would not say I was surprised because to be fair to David, he
:03:59. > :04:03.phoned me the day he had done the interview and indicated and I think
:04:03. > :04:09.he realised my annoyance when he indicated some of the things he had
:04:09. > :04:12.said. I don't think he went into all be detail but he certainly gave
:04:12. > :04:17.me the brought out line and he certainly realised my annoyance
:04:17. > :04:25.even at that stage. When he phoned to tell you about the interview you
:04:25. > :04:35.were annoyed with him? Yes. David McNarry can give us his view of
:04:35. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:40.events. He says you went beyond your remit, is he right? I do not
:04:40. > :04:44.know what the remit is that he is talking about. I am sitting here
:04:44. > :04:48.talking to you and I have sat in this studio before talking to you
:04:48. > :04:53.and the remit as you lay down as the interviewer, I have no idea of
:04:53. > :04:58.what you will ask. Is anyone suggesting I would do an interview
:04:58. > :05:02.with a professional journalist of long-standing and tell them a
:05:03. > :05:08.parcel of lies in response to direct questions? I really do not
:05:08. > :05:14.do that. I am trained to dodge questions but I am never and never
:05:14. > :05:18.have gone into line to any member of the media. He seemed to have
:05:18. > :05:21.particular issue with the DUP First Minister and an Ulster Unionist
:05:21. > :05:26.junior minister, did that come off the top of your head or was that
:05:26. > :05:33.something discussed with Tom Eliot or other people you had been to
:05:33. > :05:39.talks with? Tom Eliot was well aware of that idea as you call it.
:05:39. > :05:44.It was an example and nothing else. An example of how corporation in
:05:44. > :05:48.the current Assembly might be displayed and that is all it was,
:05:48. > :05:53.an example. Surely you would have known there would be members of
:05:53. > :05:58.your party who would have all been the Belfast Telegraph on the Monday
:05:58. > :06:03.morning and be very surprised to read what they read. It was not my
:06:03. > :06:09.call to tell members of the Unionist Party. The issues that I
:06:09. > :06:15.was dealing with, I was dealing with as part of a panel. This
:06:15. > :06:21.novelty I have heard of a liaison officer is news to me. I was picked
:06:21. > :06:29.as part of a panel. I would use the word hand-picked by the leader as
:06:29. > :06:37.part of a panel of four are to go into these discussions. Four
:06:37. > :06:42.members of my party to be surprised, I have heard some of those who have
:06:42. > :06:48.expressed this surprise. Maybe they should be asking themselves, if
:06:48. > :06:52.they are so trusted by the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, why
:06:52. > :06:58.were they left out of the loop? Why did they not know? It certainly was
:06:58. > :07:03.not my position to tell them. about these other members of the
:07:03. > :07:08.panel, who were they? I am not going to say, that would be unfair.
:07:08. > :07:13.I am not going to say who they are. I know who they are run by a quite
:07:13. > :07:17.clear who they are. Have they stood up for you in their discussions?
:07:17. > :07:22.do not know what discussions have taken place in my absence but what
:07:22. > :07:27.I do know is that in private they understand fully aware I am coming
:07:27. > :07:34.from. The understand my distress at what has happened and they would be,
:07:34. > :07:39.in my opinion, supportive. Have you over-reacted by resigning? He said
:07:39. > :07:43.it was only the committee chairmanship he was taking away.
:07:43. > :07:49.The committee chairmanship is important in terms that it is an
:07:49. > :07:55.office we hold as apartheid. I was greatly privileged to hold that
:07:55. > :08:00.deputy chairmanship. In many ways it is symbolic in that sense. In
:08:01. > :08:05.taking it away from me was nothing other than an outright punishment.
:08:05. > :08:11.I do not mind being punished if I have done something wrong. I have
:08:11. > :08:16.not done anything wrong and I have yet to hear anybody tell me,
:08:16. > :08:20.especially Tom Eliot, that I have done something wrong. But have you
:08:20. > :08:26.over-reacted? Surely you could stay within the party then, you did not
:08:26. > :08:33.have to a sign -- the resign from the Assembly group? The manner in
:08:33. > :08:41.which Tom be laid my sacking was on a mobile phone while driving a car.
:08:41. > :08:48.Now I have been a member of this party for quite a long time and
:08:48. > :08:55.there is a thing called respect. To really that news to me on his way
:08:55. > :09:05.to a meeting by mobile-phone seemed quite disrespectful. Do you think
:09:05. > :09:10.his leadership is vulnerable now? In terms of where Tom goes, the
:09:10. > :09:15.situation in the party for some time has been that there are two
:09:15. > :09:23.floating agendas. I have advised him to be cautious about those
:09:23. > :09:28.agendas. I have pointed out to him that those agendas are not loyal to
:09:28. > :09:33.him as I have been. They are not in the best interests of Unionism as I
:09:33. > :09:40.would be. He needs to be cautious. He has now made himself a prisoner
:09:40. > :09:45.of those two agendas. Which, I may say, are a separate agenda as by
:09:45. > :09:51.separate people. Has he backed the wrong horse? Could you bring him
:09:51. > :09:58.down in some way or attempt to do that? It is not a case of backing
:09:58. > :10:05.the wrong horse. True friends do not do what he has done. That just
:10:05. > :10:11.does not happen in my circle. what happens next? What is next for
:10:11. > :10:17.you? I am at work. My place of work is Stormont and my constituency
:10:17. > :10:24.office. I am out and about doing what and MLA does. This is my place
:10:24. > :10:31.of work and I am here. I intend to carry on with my work. Can you see
:10:31. > :10:35.yourself back in the fold, back in the Assembly party? I do not.
:10:35. > :10:44.think that is it, that is the end of the Ulster Unionist Party
:10:44. > :10:51.Assembly group? I will be very frank with you. I protected Tom in
:10:51. > :10:57.this storm. I am quite amazed about this story because it is not a
:10:57. > :11:02.story. The story that this is all about is the outcome. Will the two
:11:02. > :11:09.Unionist parties get together as I and many others wish or will they
:11:09. > :11:16.not? That is the outcome. That is still some distance away. I had
:11:16. > :11:24.protected Tom in spite of, and when I saw his reluctance, to say what
:11:24. > :11:29.was really happening, it is a question of honour as far as I am
:11:29. > :11:36.concerned. My integrity has been put into the public domain. I will
:11:36. > :11:42.fight to maintain my integrity. True friends, as they say, do not
:11:43. > :11:47.do what has been done to me. What will be your next step? My next
:11:47. > :11:52.step is the step I took to be where I found that called place in the
:11:52. > :11:58.Assembly. I hope I will warm it up a bit and I will continue with my
:11:58. > :12:03.work. Will you stand as an Ulster Unionist at the next election?
:12:03. > :12:07.next election is three or four macro years away. At this moment in
:12:07. > :12:12.time I know what I am doing tomorrow. Thank you for joining us
:12:12. > :12:14.tonight. You don't need to be a history buff to know that there are
:12:14. > :12:17.quite a few significant centenaries coming up. Titanic may not be
:12:17. > :12:20.controversial but the Ulster Convenant, the Easter Rising, the
:12:20. > :12:24.War of Independence and partition are likely to stir up debate. And
:12:24. > :12:28.it's up to the Culture minister to walk that tightrope. We'll hear her
:12:28. > :12:31.plans shortly. But first, it wasn't so long ago that the cattle disease
:12:31. > :12:35.brucelosis was rarely out of the farming headlines but things have
:12:35. > :12:45.come a long way in a short period of time as the Agriculture minister
:12:45. > :12:46.
:12:46. > :12:54.told members today. I am pleased to stay there are only four cases of
:12:54. > :13:02.this in 2011. Our last confirmed outbreak was on 14th July, 1920 11.
:13:02. > :13:06.Our conferment cared incidence rate is down to 0.045 %. There are only
:13:06. > :13:10.seven herds presently under restriction. I think that is a
:13:10. > :13:15.remarkable achievement and that figure may have been a lot lower if
:13:15. > :13:17.it had not been for the two infection hot spots that developed
:13:17. > :13:22.infection hot spots that developed back in 2010 which were
:13:22. > :13:27.attributable in part to reckless activities by some hared keepers.
:13:27. > :13:35.Despite all of that there is good progress. We should not be
:13:35. > :13:41.farmers report any abortion of their cattle. It is also important
:13:41. > :13:50.goodbye as security is maintained. Eradicating this by 2014 is one of
:13:50. > :14:00.our proposals in Government. Achieving the status of being free
:14:00. > :14:05.
:14:06. > :14:14.from this is our aim. Good news as well for her the new EU protected
:14:15. > :14:23.status region. The can I thank the Minister for her response and for
:14:23. > :14:31.giving the comfort spot on to the EU quality food list last week.
:14:31. > :14:36.These potatoes, and also local apples are all coming, it is
:14:36. > :14:41.positive for our industry. We will the Department celebrate,
:14:41. > :14:45.commemorate or obliterate? So it never can centenaries and events
:14:45. > :14:51.during the decade ahead provide us all with the opportunity to gain a
:14:51. > :15:01.greater understanding of our shared past and how it shapes and identify
:15:01. > :15:01.
:15:01. > :15:09.his relations today. My department is refunding its Ulster Covenant
:15:09. > :15:16.resource in historic content. A BBC programme will be transmitted in
:15:16. > :15:22.September of this year. There will be a Belfast City Council
:15:22. > :15:27.exhibition opened in City Hall this August. Exhibitions and talks on
:15:27. > :15:34.the covenant are being planned by museums and libraries. I am
:15:34. > :15:44.supportive of these plans to hold a lecture series exploring historical
:15:44. > :15:49.content of the period 1812 to 1922. I am not exactly overwhelmed by
:15:49. > :15:54.that answer. We are entering an important phase in the history of
:15:54. > :16:04.Northern Ireland. We are leading up to the foundation of Northern
:16:04. > :16:09.
:16:09. > :16:13.Ireland. We can celebrate the fact that we as an integral party of the
:16:13. > :16:23.United Kingdom has survived 100 years and intend to survive another
:16:23. > :16:30.
:16:30. > :16:38.The list of events is conclusive. It is not triumphalist. It is
:16:38. > :16:44.inclusive. We are trying to build better relations. Not beating
:16:44. > :16:48.chests. So, if the member is genuine about the events and we
:16:48. > :16:56.hope to bring forward over the next decade, I would be happy to write
:16:56. > :17:05.to him. Language and the strategies for Irish and Ulster has Scotts.
:17:05. > :17:12.The Executive has included a strategy for the Irish language.
:17:13. > :17:18.The programme for government is for consultation. Following the
:17:18. > :17:26.consideration of responses, I would intend to set out a timetable on
:17:26. > :17:36.both strategies. I am committed to taking this forward with the 1990
:17:36. > :17:36.
:17:36. > :17:41.Nate -- 1998 Act. It aims to protect the language and culture.
:17:41. > :17:47.Will the minister ensure the strategy is meet the needs of the
:17:47. > :17:50.languages and concentrate on how they will be funded? I cannot give
:17:50. > :17:57.the members assurance in terms of when the consultation has started
:17:57. > :18:04.that it will be a robust consultation and that I can give --
:18:04. > :18:09.I can give them. They will have to decide what funding they wish to
:18:09. > :18:14.allocate. The fact it is included as an Executive building block
:18:14. > :18:21.within the draft programme, I would expect colleagues to ensure funds
:18:21. > :18:24.are in place. There language strategy it should be sorted soon,
:18:24. > :18:32.but what about the Irish Language Act?
:18:32. > :18:38.The culture post was held by three DUP in the previous mandate. It is
:18:38. > :18:44.now held by Sinn Fein. I you encouraged by what you heard from
:18:44. > :18:49.the culture minister? The minister has made stronger and clear
:18:49. > :18:53.statement since she took up the post. In many ways, there have been
:18:53. > :18:59.more positive references to the Irish language in that short period
:18:59. > :19:04.of time than in the previous three years. It is welcome. There are
:19:05. > :19:09.stumbling blocks in front of any process to end that the Irish
:19:09. > :19:16.language. The Irish Language Act was a commitment given by the
:19:16. > :19:23.British Government so. Even if Stormont were willing to bring it
:19:24. > :19:28.in tomorrow, there would be issues they could not legislate on because
:19:28. > :19:32.if issues such as broadcasting. There will always need to be
:19:32. > :19:36.pressure coming from those at Assembly level who are sympathetic
:19:36. > :19:42.to the Irish language and who understand the reality of the
:19:42. > :19:47.situation. For people who do not know about the area, what practical
:19:47. > :19:54.difference to the Irish language speakers with the act make?
:19:54. > :19:59.Irish Language Act, if it is strong enough, if it is based on rights,
:19:59. > :20:05.will clarify the duties of government and the public sector in
:20:05. > :20:09.relation to Irish speakers. It will clarify what we can expect to have
:20:09. > :20:15.and what services and what timescale that will be done. It
:20:15. > :20:22.will cut-out frustration and time wasting and uncertainty that
:20:22. > :20:28.currently exists. It will enable the state to make strategies and
:20:28. > :20:33.put in place measures that it can bring in over a period of time.
:20:33. > :20:38.you concerned about the financial aspect? For some departments, it
:20:38. > :20:48.may seem further down the list given the straitened times?
:20:48. > :20:49.
:20:49. > :20:59.Tsar areas, -- who these are areas where the language -- Irish
:20:59. > :20:59.
:20:59. > :21:03.Language Act will cut across. Irish speakers are saying we pay taxes
:21:03. > :21:09.and we need to have a share of services that can meet the needs we
:21:09. > :21:15.have. Up until now we have been excluded. Those need can be met
:21:15. > :21:19.without the necessary huge -- necessarily huge additional cost.
:21:19. > :21:24.The ongoing detention of Marion Price he was return to prison last
:21:24. > :21:28.year was the main debate in the chamber. This motion called on the
:21:28. > :21:34.Justice Minister to press the Secretary of State to review his
:21:34. > :21:44.decision. There was no support from the Unionist pensioners, despite
:21:44. > :21:44.
:21:44. > :21:54.the best efforts of SDLP to convince them otherwise. It was not
:21:54. > :21:54.
:21:54. > :21:59.subject to the licence. The Secretary of State cannot find
:21:59. > :22:04.written details. Mr Speaker, I make the point clearly. There is
:22:04. > :22:08.something suspicious when the Northern Ireland Office cannot find
:22:08. > :22:14.the document. They are either withholding it or too embarrassed
:22:14. > :22:17.to share it. The Justice Minister of master raised this about
:22:17. > :22:23.processes within the prison system that are bought into doubt with
:22:23. > :22:29.this case. This community is content that people abide by the
:22:29. > :22:35.law. When they break the law, they serve their sentence until released.
:22:35. > :22:41.Marion Price were sentence for matters almost 40 years ago. She is
:22:41. > :22:46.in prison and has been treated appropriately. Hopefully, at some
:22:46. > :22:51.point in the future, the sentences and regime that will bring charges
:22:51. > :22:59.will do so and we can see the outcome of the judicial system but
:22:59. > :23:04.the judicial system at the moment should seek its course. I note with
:23:04. > :23:10.concern the continuing detention. But I am not convinced I should
:23:10. > :23:16.have particular concern. I am told she is vulnerable. Perhaps being in
:23:16. > :23:21.prison is the best place at times for vulnerable people. People mix
:23:21. > :23:29.up justice, sometimes mercy with revenge. What I her it was large
:23:29. > :23:37.doses of revenge. Bear this in mind, this woman was released in prison
:23:37. > :23:43.in 1980. -- from prison. 32 years later, 31 years later, she is
:23:43. > :23:48.returned to prison. The person has no right to challenge the basis on
:23:48. > :23:52.which her licence was revoked. will do everything to ensure she is
:23:52. > :23:57.treated in a way that meets her needs, recognising she is in a
:23:57. > :24:01.specific position as the sole category a woman prisoner in
:24:01. > :24:06.Northern Ireland. I will not interfere with due process as it
:24:06. > :24:11.lies to the commissioners, the responsibilities they have and the
:24:11. > :24:17.secretary of state has exercised. Back to the main story. The row in
:24:17. > :24:25.the Ulster Unionist Party. You heard what David McNarry said. What
:24:25. > :24:29.you make of it? My head is full of claims and counter claims. What I
:24:29. > :24:36.think is happening is there is a clear power struggle within the
:24:36. > :24:41.party. You heard David McNarry talk about two agendas. I think he means
:24:41. > :24:48.that those who want to go into our position and seize control of the
:24:48. > :24:58.party and those who want to stay in government and work co-operatively.
:24:58. > :24:59.
:24:59. > :25:04.Is David McNarry a casualty? Will Tom Elliott for? -- fall down. It
:25:04. > :25:09.is confusing. Tom Elliott spoke about a liaison officer. David
:25:09. > :25:15.McNarry spoke about a panel. He is not spelling out what he means. Now
:25:15. > :25:20.back to Tom Elliott, to ask if the panel exists. These questions will
:25:20. > :25:26.run. I think Tom Elliott giving a substantial of interview, I think
:25:26. > :25:32.he hoped it would go away but I do not think it will. He was decisive
:25:32. > :25:36.about being seen as leading and taking a disciplinarian approach.
:25:36. > :25:43.Other people in the party have talked to the media and they have
:25:43. > :25:48.not had this happen, where they are demoted from a role. It is �6,000.
:25:48. > :25:55.Most of us would not like to lose a job like that. I put it to Tom
:25:55. > :25:58.Elliott, if my boss is upset with me, I do not think it would take
:25:58. > :26:04.him five days to reprimand me and I do not think I would be shocked
:26:04. > :26:09.when it came, in the way David McNarry says he was shocked. If Tom
:26:09. > :26:15.Elliott is saying he is punished because of the line where he talked
:26:15. > :26:20.about a DUP First Minister and Ulster Unionist junior minister, he
:26:20. > :26:24.said it was an idea. It underscores that David McNarry was not talking
:26:24. > :26:32.about a single party. He maintained he was talking about two parties
:26:32. > :26:37.working together. The plot will continue to thicken. There are
:26:37. > :26:42.people... I am hearing different things going on but it sounds like
:26:42. > :26:47.a power struggle. So far, David McNarry has been a casualty of it.
:26:48. > :26:54.Thank you. We can have a final word from Jan
:26:54. > :27:01.it. Where now for the campaign to get the Irish language act? Will
:27:01. > :27:06.held a major event in Stormont in November. We presented proposals
:27:06. > :27:12.the made in 2006. They were agreed proposals for what kind of shape
:27:12. > :27:18.and form the Irish Language Act should have. Those were re endorsed
:27:18. > :27:26.in November. We are Updating the proposals on education because of
:27:26. > :27:32.the growth in that period in education. And on the media,
:27:32. > :27:35.because of digital technologies and things like that. We will be
:27:35. > :27:40.publishing the 2012 version of the recommendations for the Irish
:27:40. > :27:46.Language Act. We will give that to the minister and we would hope it
:27:46. > :27:51.would influence the content of the bill to go before the Assembly, or
:27:51. > :28:00.to go to Westminster, whichever is appropriate. We realistically, what
:28:00. > :28:04.is your best guess, what year? commitment was given in 2006. Since
:28:04. > :28:08.that time three major bodies have spoken about what has happened and
:28:08. > :28:15.the way the commitment has not been fulfilled. United Nations, Council