No prosecution over damage to DUP mayor portrait

The portrait of former Belfast lord mayor Lord Browne was back on display in December 2024

A man investigated over alleged criminal damage to a portrait of a former Belfast lord mayor will not be prosecuted, the Public Prosecution Service has confirmed.

The painting of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer Lord Browne was on display inside Belfast City Hall when it was damaged in October last year.

A Sinn Féin employee at Stormont later resigned over the incident, which was investigated by police as a hate crime.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction as "key gaps remained" in the available evidence.

'High-profile incident'

This included "no CCTV coverage" of the area around the portrait as the nearby camera had been "out of service for some time".

The PPS also said the Sinn Féin employee's resignation "contained no admission".

It also said a man interviewed by police "exercised his right not to answer questions".

"This was a high-profile incident which generated understandable concerns and commentary about how and why the portrait came to be damaged," a PPS spokesperson said.

"It is understandable that the suspension and resignation of a Sinn Féin member raised expectations that a prosecution would likely follow.

"However, prosecutors can only initiate proceedings based on the evidence that is available and in this case there were significant evidential gaps which undermined the prospects of a conviction.

"Despite further investigative enquiries being made by police at the request of PPS, it was not possible to overcome these evidential shortcomings."

Belfast City Council spent £20,000 on new security measures in response to the incident

The painting was damaged following an event at City Hall to celebrate an Irish-language group's 20th anniversary.

Glór na Móna at the time said it was "extremely disappointed" to learn of the incident and would assist the council with its enquiries.

The event at City Hall was attended by a number of high-profile Sinn Féin figures.

A man attended a voluntary interview with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in November last year.

In March this year, a file reporting a suspect for alleged criminal damage was sent to the PPS for consideration.

The incident came just days after a decision to remove former Sinn Féin lord mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile's portrait from City Hall.

It followed controversy after it emerged Mr Ó Donnghaile had quit the party over sending inappropriate texts to a teenager.

'Key gaps'

The PPS said it worked closely with the PSNI on the case but "despite significant efforts to develop a clear evidential picture, key gaps remained".

It said these included:

• No CCTV coverage of the area around the portrait, as the nearby camera was out of service

• Police were unable to identify any individual who had witnessed the relevant events

• An email sent by the Sinn Féin employee to the party chief whip tendering his resignation "contained no admission"

• A witness statement by the chief whip said the employee "made no admission to being at the event and had denied any knowledge of the damage".

• A man interviewed by police voluntarily "exercised his right not to answer questions"

• Attempts to obtain a list of attendees from the group responsible for hosting the event were "unsuccessful"

A PPS spokesperson added, "we can assure the public that all decision-making in this case was conducted independently and impartially and fully in accordance with our Code for Prosecutors".

The PSNI reiterated its commitment to "treat everyone equally before the law".

It said police "have a duty to conduct investigations where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of criminal offences" and procedures were "followed in this case".

"Prosecutorial decisions are made independently by the Public Prosecution Service and it would be inappropriate to comment further other than to reiterate the Police Service's commitment to treat everyone equally before the law," it added.

In a statement Sinn Féin said the party "cooperated fully" in investigations.

"The incident that occurred in the city hall was a matter for the police to investigate and then for the PPS to decide on the appropriate course of action," a party spokesperson said.

"This process has been thorough and has now reached a conclusion.

"Sinn Féin cooperated fully in this investigation."

Earlier this year it emerged almost £2,500 had been spent by Belfast City Council on repairs to the painting.

A further £20,000 was spent on new security measures in response to the incident.

In a fresh statement, the council said it was looking at "potential options" to recover the costs of the portrait repairs.

O'Neill asked to name SF employee

In the Northern Ireland Assembly chamber on Monday, First Minister Michelle O'Neill was asked to name the Sinn Féin employee who resigned over the incident.

DUP assembly member Phillip Brett asked the first minister: "Will you take this opportunity to name that former employee and which member of your party and member of this house that individual is related to?"

The Sinn Féin vice-president replied: "If only your question was genuinely about respect, but of course, it's not.

"The PPS have made their views known and I respect their position."

Brian Kingston also raised the issue with the first minister.

"Given that there were a large number of Sinn Féin members in attendance, including the junior minister, surely it is not credible for Sinn Féin to claim once again that they did not notice their former employee present there," the DUP assembly member said.

O'Neill said it was a "matter for the PPS", adding: "You mightn't like the outcome, but the outcome is the outcome."

The first minister continued: "They have made their view known. I have nothing further to add to it."

Speaking to reporters at Stormont, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was "a shame" no prosecutions had resulted from the investigation, and he described the damage to his party colleague's portrait as "appalling".

"What we need in this society is a criminal justice system that responds when people err," he said.