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Northern Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill is one of the high-ranking members of Sinn Féin who will be interviewed by police to investigate alleged Covid-19 breaches at the funeral of Republican veteran Bobby Storey.
The party has confirmed to RTÉ News that she is one of 14 people who sent letters asking them to attend voluntary interviews at a local PSNI station.
Those who received the letters have been given 14 days to respond.
The investigation into the alleged breaches of Covid-19 regulations at the funeral in West Belfast in June is led by Cumbrian Deputy Chief of Police Mark Webster.
In a statement, Sinn Féin said: “Several of the party’s elected representatives have received letters from the police this morning asking them to appear for a voluntary interview.
“They will contact the police and cooperate with the investigation.”
Earlier this month, Ms. O’Neill told RTÉ News that she accepted that the Stormont Executive’s public health messages were damaged by the controversy surrounding the funeral.
He said he was sorry for what had happened.
An independent investigation into the events at a Belfast cemetery on the day Mr Storey was cremated will be reported in six weeks.
Mass gathering scenes at the funeral despite restrictions as part of coronavirus regulations sparked outrage in June.
Further upheaval was caused by the access granted to the Roselawn Cemetery on a day when eight other families were denied access due to pandemic measures.
Belfast City Council apologized to those families.
The council also ordered an independent investigation into the handling of the funeral at Roselawn Cemetery, to be led by attorney Peter Coll QC.
It will inform you in six weeks. The terms of reference include 14 concerns.
The first of these is whether any preferential treatment was sought to accommodate the cremation of Mr. Storey by political representatives or others acting on behalf of the family.
The list of concerns also includes whether “control” of the cemetery was turned over to people acting on behalf of the Storey family, using CCTV to examine the numbers present and the decision to send council staff home.
Mr. Coll has also been asked to “review when and if decisions were communicated to elected representatives, to which elected representatives they were communicated, and when they were communicated.”
In a statement, Belfast City Council said that families affected by the events in Roselawn will have the opportunity to speak directly with Coll.
“Leaders of the party group in Belfast City Council have agreed to release the terms of reference for the Roselawn investigation,” the council said.
These incorporate the issues raised by political parties within the council following the decision to commission an independent investigation, and have been approved by all parties that supported that decision.
“The terms of reference provide scope for additional questions to be raised between the party’s group leaders and Peter Coll QC.
“The Council will ensure that the relatives of the affected families can speak directly with Mr. Coll QC if they wish.
“The council will be in contact with the representatives of the families in the next days to facilitate the arrangements in case they wish to have such a meeting held.”
Additional reporting PA
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