Michelle O'Neill is questioned over her attendance at the Bobby Storey funeral
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00:00 No reflection, I don't think, nor any insight in your witness statement about any of the hurt
00:09 or any of the problems that you caused by attending the funeral of Mr Story. Do you agree?
00:16 I think I have addressed that in my statement and in previous statements but if you allow me,
00:23 I'd be happy to address it right now. Certainly.
00:26 Sure, thank you and maybe perhaps even to go directly to the families because it's those
00:31 people that have been impacted by my actions and if that's okay I would like to address them.
00:34 I'm afraid Miss Ineall you're here to give evidence not to address people.
00:38 I think you need to give your evidence.
00:39 To yourself.
00:40 To me.
00:40 Okay, okay, sorry my lady. I mean I have to say up front and I do want to direct,
00:46 I'm glad that we're actually able to speak about this so early on in the evidence because
00:50 there is no doubt that the families themselves have been through an experience that there is
00:55 no coming back from. It's been absolutely horrendous and to lose loved ones in a way
01:00 in which they have has been just absolutely horrendous. I have met some of the families
01:04 individually. I have equally listened to some of the testimony from or the testimony that was
01:10 offered at the start of the inquiry and no family should ever have to go through what these families
01:17 have went through. I also know equally that my actions compounded the hurt and that horrible
01:23 experience that those families have gone through. I also know that my actions also angered the
01:27 families and for that I'm truly sorry. I am sorry for going and I'm sorry for the hurt that's been
01:33 caused after that and I want to make that statement very clear on the record again today.
01:37 Did you realise at the time the hurt and anger that going to the funeral would cause?
01:41 I didn't but I ought to have.
01:46 Can we bring up on screen please INQ 000 474 208 please.
01:53 These are the minutes of the meeting that took place after the funeral with your executive
02:02 colleagues and you address them at well from the bottom of page one.
02:11 And if we go over the page.
02:16 I think you invite your colleagues to divorce their views of Mr Story from your actions.
02:22 That you were invited by the family. That you were honoured to do so.
02:28 Huge figure. New thousands would wish to attend. Online streaming watched by 250,000 people.
02:39 If I go down that a little bit. People entitled to view. People vote with feet.
02:49 Applause along the Anderson's time road.
02:53 No dilution in my mind of public message. No offence intended.
03:01 And if we go on please to look at page seven.
03:07 Mr Murphy's not been able to give evidence but in terms of what he said.
03:12 Rules relaxed not same circumstances. Technicalities.
03:21 He sets out a bit about his attendance.
03:26 And then over the page.
03:33 People can say what they want to say entitled to opinion. I'm entitled to be sceptical.
03:39 You were entirely unapologetic on the 2nd of July weren't you.
03:49 So I think that I have reflected there. I think it would go further than what I said in that minute.
03:56 It was immediately after the funeral itself and I think what I said was absolutely right.
04:02 Itself and I think what I've said there in terms of not diluting the public message.
04:05 That was wrong because clearly I did and I have acknowledged that and equally I've worked every
04:11 day ever since to regain public confidence and trust. I think I took every opportunity that I
04:18 had in terms of the aftermath in both the assembly chamber in front of the scrutiny committee.
04:26 I've said it publicly on a number of occasions about how sorry I am and I am absolutely from
04:32 the bottom of my heart sorry because I would never ever set out to hurt people.
04:36 Can I just ask in relation to your witness statement when you made your witness statement
04:42 you made the criticisms of Boris Johnson's government and the allegations of polity in
04:48 Downing Street. Wasn't that a bit hypocritical knowing what you knew by the time you made that statement?
04:54 I don't think so because they're two very different things in terms of the Boris Johnson
04:58 approach of partying the whole way through the pandemic and blinking their way through it.
05:02 To be quite blunt. We didn't find out about the party until after the pandemic. I mean what
05:07 you did was to do something that the breed couldn't do, the normal breed couldn't do,
05:13 because you wanted to go to a friend's funeral. Isn't that then saying that what Boris Johnson's
05:20 government did was wrongly, hypocritical? No I don't think so because what I did I did under
05:25 the understanding of the regulations at that time and I know we don't want to open that up my lady
05:30 but I have answered to that. But I do accept wholeheartedly that I in some way damaged
05:39 our executive relations with colleagues who had been working very hard with me the whole way through.
05:45 I also accept wholeheartedly that I damaged the public health messaging and I had work to do to
05:50 regain that but I did that. I worked hard to regain that trust and confidence and to lead us for the
05:56 next year and a half through the pandemic. So the only reason I'm pressing on the statement is the
06:00 point of principle is that those who set the rules should obey the rules both in spirit and
06:05 in the letter. That's really the point I'm making. Yeah and I should have anticipated the outworking
06:11 of what I did.
06:12 So did her.
06:13 Was it really that difficult?