Counsel to Look into the Tenability of NI First Minister's Position

Babish: You broke some laws, Abbey, and quite frankly you should be ashamed of yourself, but this investigation isn't about that.
Abbey: Look...
Babish: It's about the criminalization of politics. An attempt to do in the hearing room what they couldn't do at the ballot box.
Abbey: I understand, but we don't have the luxury...
Babish: Abbey, stop eating fruits, stop eating vegetables, it's doing something bad to you. Fruits and vegetables will seduce you, like a woman, with their...
Abbey: Oliver!
Babish: Truth isn't a luxury. You're going to go in there, you're going to swear an oath, you're going to get asked questions, and you're going to tell the truth. It's the way you stand up and say 'Stop!'
Abbey: You should be careful Oliver. You keep talking like a person, they're going to kick you out of the bar.
Babish: I've been kicked out of bars before.
Abbey: I meant...
Babish: I know what you meant.

from All Gone Quiet episode 3-06 The West Wing

So Peter Robinson was back in BBC Northern Ireland earlier to say that he was employing a senior counsel, no not Oliver Babish, to look at the Spotlight programme of last night and ask him any questions they wish to ask to give an opinion as to what he should have disclosed or whether I have breached an obligation.

Things have been moving fast today though, journalist Eamonn Mallie reported the DUP Officers were meeting at 4:30 this evening and then that Deputy First Minister Martin MacGuinness was meeting Gordon Brown annoyed that the First Minister hadn't returned his requests all day for a meeting.

However, Robinson is remaining defiant that he has done nothing wrong, he even says that he was shocked of some of the allegations in the programme. This doesn't seem to be going down well either within his own party or in the other half of the OFMDFM. He does however say that the reverse repayments of the money was carried out through a solicitor.

On the question of him telling his wife to resign all her political offices at the time rather than waiting for them to run their course, he told Mark Davenport "you jump to conclusions, based on the smears in the Spotlight programme". The only advise he believed he should have given was that his wife should have paid it back in the proper manner.

However, surely as a longer standing MP and in light of the who issue over MPs expenses earlier this year surely it would have dawned on him to also advise his wife to declare the original loans ever if they were being repaid. He doesn't seem to deny that the loans were made to her and or her hands on dealing with their repayment.

Sir Reg Empey the leader of the UUP is calling on Mrs Robinson to vacate all her public offices from today, saying it is not right to carry on receiving pay from the public purse for them in light of the revelations about her financial dealings.

UPDATE: Mind you somebody has been quick of the mark reworking that Simon and Garfunkle classic to take into account recent events. Hat tip to Slugger O’Toole via Paul Walters