Arlene Foster may face a personal lawsuit as well as pressure to step aside over the handling of a botched green-energy scheme.
The SDLP will present a no-confidence motion in the Stormont assembly tomorrow demanding that Northern Ireland’s first minister step aside for six months.
Following a Sinn Fein leadership meeting in Derry yesterday, Gerry Adams called for “a fully independent, transparent investigation” into the scheme and said his party must “defend the integrity of the institutions”.
No decision on the confidence motion was announced by Sinn Fein, however.
In a BBC interview on Thursday night, the former Democratic Unionist Party enterprise minister Jonathan Bell accused his party leader of “abusive” behaviour towards him when he tried to shut down the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which is set to cost Stormont £400m (€480m) in uncapped subsidies for wood-pellet boilers.
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In a follow-up interview, Foster accused Bell of “bullying” her and claimed many of her female colleagues had felt intimidated and bullied by him over the years.
On Friday evening, Bell announced that he would be making no further comment and “all matters have been placed in the hands of my lawyer Paul Tweed”. Bell was a close ally of Peter Robinson during the latter years of his DUP leadership.
Opposition leaders have questioned Foster’s claims. Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt called on the Equality Commission to investigate, saying that if the first minister believed female staff were being bullied “she has a duty of care which cannot be discharged simply by saying she is aware of the problem”.
Naomi Long, the Alliance leader, worked with Bell during the 2013 Haass talks. Despite having “robust exchanges”, Long said she “would never have described him as in any way aggressive, bullying or intimidating. It doesn’t ring true and people who worked with him in social work say the same.”
At Stormont, a consensus appears to be emerging that the RHI scheme must be the subject of a formal investigation. Parties differ on what form this should take and whether Foster should step aside in the interim.
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Nesbitt said he would prefer the assembly’s public accounts committee to establish the facts, but he fears that lack of public confidence in Stormont means its verdict would not be accepted. “I am sadly but inexorably moving towards the expense of a judge-led, independent process,” said Nesbitt.
Long also wants a judge- led inquiry, and noted that Bell’s call for one indicated “a reasonable degree of confidence in his position”.
Sinn Fein had said it would not sign the motion of no confidence in Foster, the only assembly party other than the DUP to do so. However, deputy first minister Martin McGuinness revealed he had advised Foster to step down during any investigation.