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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

Just one MLA reimburses Stormont for cost of travelling to Queen's lying in state

Only one MLA reimbursed Stormont for the cost of going to London to see the Queen lying in state.

Almost £15,000 was spent by the Assembly on travel and accommodation for 27 MLAs and six staff to see the monarch's coffin last month inside Westminster Hall ahead of her state funeral.

Some 17 MLAs were granted special access which meant they did not have to join the miles-long queue faced by members of the public, according to fresh details provided by the Assembly.

Read more: December Northern Ireland Assembly election to cost £6.5m

DUP Economy Minister Gordon Lyons was the only MLA to repay to the public purse costs associated with the trip, contributing £379.73 to a Stormont consolidated fund.

He was among 14 MLAs who attended the reception of the coffin at Westminster Hall on Wednesday September 14, which happened before viewing was opened to the public.

Eight DUP MLAs, four Alliance representatives and two Ulster Unionists attended the ceremony, according to a Freedom of Information request.

The lying in state, for which members of the public had to queue for hours, was attended by 17 MLAs who were granted special access to Westminster Hall.

The Assembly said it paid travel costs for 15 of those MLAs - 11 DUP, three UUP and independent MLA Alex Easton. A further two, Alliance leader Naomi Long and former UUP leader Steve Aiken, made their own arrangements.

The DUP's Mr Lyons and Emma Little-Pengelly were the only MLAs for which the Assembly arranged their attendance at both the reception ceremony and the lying in state, according to the Stormont records.

In its FOI response, the Assembly said: "All of the devolved administrations were given an allocation of invitations to attend the lying in state of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."

MPs, other high-profile figures and some media were also permitted to bypass the queue during the late monarch's almost four days of lying in state.

It led to some facing a social media backlash for not joining the public queue, which swelled in size and at some points reached a wait time of "at least 24 hours".

This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield faced sustained criticism after they appeared inside Westminster Hall without taking part in the public line.

The celebrities said they would "never jump a queue" and were granted access to the hall "strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event" similar to "hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists".

Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid and former footballer David Beckham were among the famous faces who joined the long queues with members of the public.

In a previous statement, a Stormont Assembly spokeswoman confirmed the Assembly Commission funded travel arrangements for MLAs and accompanying commission staff.

She said: "The Assembly Commission ensured that all members who wished to, had the opportunity to represent the Assembly and their constituents to pay their respects."

The spokeswoman added it was "normal" for devolved legislatures "to support the arrangements for members when they are attending official events of this level and nature".

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