THE FIRST Minister of Northern Ireland and DUP leader Peter Robinson has insisted he has done nothing wrong in relation to the purchase and sale of land for just £5 near his east Belfast home.
He rounded on the Ulster Unionists last night who had called on him to stand aside from his position as First Minister while he answered questions about his business affairs.
He also strongly criticised the BBC, accusing the corporation of a witch-hunt and smear campaign which, he said, was deliberately timed to coincide with the imminent Westminster general election with a view to discrediting him.
Earlier this week, BBC Northern Ireland reported that the Robinsons had purchased a small strip of land near their home for £5 from developer Fred Fraser.
It further reported that the purchase of a small strip of land helped facilitate the development of a site to the rear of the Robinsons’ house.
It reported that the small strip of land was “left over from one of Mr Fraser’s previous developments”.
“When the First Minister sold part of his garden to development company Bloomfield develop-ments for £459,000, Mr Robinson sold the strip for the same £5 he paid for it 18 months earlier.”
Mr Robinson last night angrily denied the strip of land was of key value and claimed the development of the site to the rear of his home could have gone ahead without its purchase.
“I had a free-standing site that could have been developed on its own,” he said. “This piece of ground was of no value to me whatsoever.”
The late Mr Fraser was one of two businessmen who provided some £25,000 each, at the request of Iris Robinson, to help her former teenage lover set up a cafe business in south Belfast. The controversy led to Mrs Robinson’s resignation from public life.
Following this latest BBC report Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey accused Mr Robinson of “severely tarnishing the reputation of the Executive” and said there was “an onus on him to provide immediate answers” about his conduct.
“Confidence in our political processes and in our institutions is being eroded,” he said.
“Following the BBC Spotlight programme in early January, the First Minister sought legal advice and temporarily stepped aside until he had received and considered this advice. Regrettably this advice was not published.”
Sir Reg added: “We are therefore calling for the First Minister to publish the legal advice immediately which he already holds so that there is complete transparency.
‘‘We believe that the First Minister should also seek further independent legal advice following the most recent allegations. This advice must also be published. In the interim period the First Minister should step aside voluntarily in the same manner as he did in January,” he said
However, Mr Robinson hit back, accusing Sir Reg of “pathetic” leadership in relation to his party’s links with the British Conservatives.