FORMER SINN FÉIN TD Brian Stanley has said he asked his former party to refer a complaint relating to an internal inquiry involving him to gardaí last month, welcoming that the party has now “belatedly” done so.
The Laois-Offaly TD resigned from the party late on Saturday, stepping away after 40 years of membership due to what he called a “seriously flawed” internal investigation.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the party undertook an internal disciplinary process to look into a complaint that was made against him in July and that during the investigation a “counter allegation” was made.
McDonald said that a preliminary report was furnished to both individuals – Stanley and the complainant – last week but that, on foot of Stanley’s resignation on Saturday, the internal process has been suspended and the issue has been referred to gardaí.
McDonald has said that the party did not initially make a garda referral when it received the original complaint because it had not been of a ‘criminal nature’. She said a referral to gardaí was made yesterday.
In a fresh statement issued today, Stanley said he had sought for the referral be made sooner.
“I welcome the fact that Sinn Fein has belatedly referred the “complaint” and matters concerning it to the Gardai. This has been advocated by me for some time, including to a senior Sinn Fein official,” Stanley said in a statement released through his solicitor.
The party should have referred it to the Gardai once both myself and my legal representative brought certain serious matters to the attention of the “panel” on 11 September.
He adds: “Mary Lou McDonald has stated correctly that the complaint made against me is not of a criminal nature.”
Stanley, however, disputes the account by his former party leader that his rights were protected throughout the process, something which he says is “totally incorrect”.
He says:
“This complaint, which I refute, was lodged with the party on the very first day (26 July), that the 10-day nomination process opened for members such as myself to be put forward to contest the general election. In my case this had the effect of preventing me of having any hope of contesting it as a Sinn Fein candidate for Laois.”
Stanley goes on to claim he has “written proof” that the party was informed of the allegation on 26 July, disputing a version of events given by McDonald on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One today, when she said the statement from the complainant was received in August.
Stanley also says that he made McDonald aware on 29 July that “certain information” regarding the complaint was being circulated by party members.
He claims that information “had been deliberately kept from me” relating to the nature of the complaint.
“An “omerto” [sic] was in place,” he says in the statement, adding that he instructed a solicitor on 31 July to write to the party to “ascertain what was the nature of this complaint”.
However, Stanley says that in the period between the original complaint being made and him instructing a solicitor to seek information a “process of character assassination was well underway by a certain party clique”.
Speaking on Morning Ireland today, McDonald said she was made aware of the complaint against Stanley in August but that she was not made aware of the nature of the complaint.
“The statement from the complainant was received on 2 August, and the process kicked off from there. Deputy Stanley was made aware of matters on 3 August. Deputy Stanley rejected the complaint,” McDonald said.
She said that under party rules, she was not told the details of what was in the complaint.
She added: “I was made aware in early August that there was a complaint made…..I’m made aware that there is a complaint at that stage, but as per the rules and procedure, I’m not made aware of what the complaint is, the nature of the complaint. It’s very important for the fair processing and conduct of an inquiry like this that there is no suggestion even of interference or influence at all.”
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