The WhatsApp messages, some of which are acutely embarrassing for senior party figures, are being made public after they were given to the inquiry by former DUP minister Edwin Poots, now the Assembly Speaker, and have been published tonight.
DUP MLA Edwin Poots (right) and solicitor John McBurney, leaving the Clayton Hotel in Belfast after giving evidence at the UK Covid-19 inquiry last week. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA
That is in stark contrast to Sinn Féin, whose Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill admitted to the inquiry yesterday that she deliberately deleted everything from all her devices despite being warned by the Head of the Civil Service not to do so and despite being given written legal advice which specifically said text messages and WhatsApps should not be deleted.
So far, the inquiry hasn’t published a single internal Sinn Féin message.
The DUP messages are from a WhatsApp group containing its Executive ministers, special advisers, and other senior party figures.
They show the party lampooning the Catholic Church, a message from Emma Little Pengelly that the public were looking for a “strong man”, but also Mrs Little Pengelly’s personal concern for some of the most deprived members of society, reminding colleagues that she came from a poor background.
The inquiry has made multiple redactions to the 63 pages of messages, some of which are hard to follow for that reason.
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One of the individuals whose name has been blacked out appears to be Economy Minister Diane Dodds, who talks about going to vote in the European Parliament, and another is First Minister Arlene Foster, who confirmed that in oral testimony today.
However, there is no way to know how many other individuals were involved but have their names redacted.
The messages begin when Stormont returned at the start of 2020 following three years without devolved government.
Someone whose name has been blacked out by the inquiry said on 17 January 2020: “SF doesn’t seem to have matured at all!!”
Emma Little Pengelly – then a special adviser but now deputy First Minister – replied sarcastically: “Well, why not – let English taxpayers subsidise our free prescriptions, lower rates, no water charges, lower tuition fees and free prescriptions…but hey, how dare you guys starve us of funding? #Perfidious Albion”.
Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots responded: “And a £100m pa on welfare mitigation”. Education Minister Peter Weir said: “Are any of [us] really surprised?”
The first reference to covid is on 23 January when an individual whose name has been blacked out said: “I hear there’s a suspected case of this virus in RVH.”
In apparent reference to Sinn Féin calling Michelle O’Neill ‘joint head of government’, someone said “this must be a new title bestowed on Michelle”; another person said: “they are at this all the time”.
Another person whose name is hidden said: Certainly they cannot have that on official communications”.
Mr Weir, whose messages are often laden with humour, said: “Perhaps I should start calling myself George Clooney, it’s just as accurate”.
Peter Weir at the Covid inquiry
The Education Minister said on 13 March: “I see on PA, Archbishop Eamon Martin is writing to me urging me to close all the schools. Wasn’t aware of his qualifications in virology.”
Someone whose name has been blacked out said: “Write back and tell him we don’t live in the South and that his institution hasn’t the best track record of looking out for the welfare of kids.”
The following day, in an apparent reference to Sinn Féin, someone denounced “panicking people” and “totally irresponsible” behaviour.
On 14 March, in a reference to civil servants, someone said that “some of the officials don’t inspire me”.
The next day, Mr Weir said that solicitor Kevin Winters had launched a judicial review of the decision not to close schools. An unidentified person responded: “Read SF for KW”. Mr Weir replied: “Indeed.”
The messages show that DUP ministers genuinely believed they would be hurting people – and even endangering lives – by taking radical measures to shut down society.
But in their evidence to the inquiry several DUP ministers, including Arlene Foster and Edwin Poots, now accept that they should have locked down sooner.
Dame Arlene Foster leaving the Clayton Hotel in Belfast after giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 inquiry hearing. Picture date: Wednesday May 15, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story INQUIRY Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire
On 14 March, Mr Weir said that “above all other considerations will be our protection of human life, which the best opportunity to do so is following the professional advice. If in the long run we can spare one extra family from the tragic loss of a loved one then we will have done the right thing rather than the politics of panic of others.”
In another message, he said: “There is crazy stuff going about which if acted upon would simply cost lives.”
On 15 March, Emma Little Pengelly lamented how teachers seemed to think they wouldn’t be going to work once schools closed.
Mr Weir replied: “We could do with a few unnamed ministers not coming to work.”
Two days later, Mr Poots said he was “under pressure with CAFRE”, the agricultural college. Referring to Sinn Féin, he said: “The public are looking to us for leadership and we can’t afford to be scrapping with them. That doesn’t mean giving them want they want but need agreement.”
Ms Little Pengelly’s influence with Mrs Foster is evident. On 17 March, she set out how lockdown was likely days away and they needed to propose multiple measures including a single website for all pandemic information and “a stateswomanlike address to NI by FM and DFM”.
She said: “We also need to be aware that in behaviour science terms we are now dealing with emergency, war time like circumstance – ergo people want to see what is termed in political science as ‘strong man’ political leaders – (now strong women..) – this is very well established. Strong and serious, calm and professional.”
She urged ministers to be “empathetic and understanding” to the pressures faced by those struggling financially, reminding them that “those on working tax credit get free school meals (FSM}, many on that benefit DO work but may find themselves on reduced hours or redundant…and many of those on FSMs are our voters (I am saying this as a child who was a FSM child for many years).”
There is a gap of about a month in the messages. On 22 April, Mr Weir said: “Hargey has [another few words have been blacked out by the inquiry as ‘irrelevant and sensitive’]! She’s had a tough paper round clearly.”