Covid-19 Inquiry: Idea to replace Swann during pandemic 'bizarre'

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie wants to meet the head of the NI Civil Service to discuss revelations about a "radical" idea to replace Robin Swann during the Covid crisis.

The detail was contained in documents published by the UK Covid Inquiry which is currently sitting in Belfast.

It was suggested that Mr Swann could be moved to give the larger Stormont parties control over the health brief.

Doug Beattie described the idea as "incredibly bizarre".

He also said it called into question the impartiality of the civil service.

The civil servant who floated the idea was Hugh Widdis who at the time was senior legal advisor to the Executive. He is now permanent secretary at the Department of Justice.

The idea - which he recognised was "radical" and may not be "palatable" - was to ask Mr Swann to take on a different ministry during the pandemic to allow a DUP or Sinn Féin politician to take on the key role in health.

The context was an email exchange between civil servants in the early days of the pandemic, at the end of March 2020, when ministers were working out how best to deal with the developing public health crisis.

An email from the then head of the civil service, David Sterling, to fellow officials quoted the then deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill telling him "we need to be driving this crisis, we need to be in control".

Doug Beattie told BBC News: "The fact it was even considered. The fact it was even talked about is quite bizarre.

"But it tells you what is the mentality. And remember this as well, the same senior civil servant was part of the workstreams for getting government up and running again. The same civil servant is part of the budget negotiations that are going through now. They can all be linked so for us to get confidence in where we are with the civil service it is really important I speak to the head of the civil service."

At the time Mr Sterling wrote: "She [Michelle O'Neill] is clearly frustrated with being a first minister but actually having little power or influence over the health service.

"FM [Arlene Foster] is more circumspect, recognising the 'operational independence' of the health minister.

"Though she too is frustrated at the lack of information coming out of DoH (Department of Health) coupled with frequent surprises eg today's announcement that hospital visits are to end."

It was in response to this email that Mr Widdis, made his reshuffle suggestion, amid a range of different proposals.

He wrote: "There would be more radical options but I presume that they aren't palatable eg: asking Robin to take a different portfolio for the duration (they would have to make a tempting offer) and putting a SF or DUP Minister in?

"Or causing dHondt to be run again."

The Executive Office has been approached for comment.

Mr Widdis also had other less radical suggestions, like developing an emergency programme for government, or creating "an all-Exec overarching Covid strategy" which the first and deputy first ministers "can lead and own".

Mr Swann remained as health minister during the pandemic, and recently returned to the job when devolution was restored earlier this year.

A real crisis... and it is scaring them

As part of the same exchange of emails between civil servants, Karen Pearson, from the Executive Office, pointed out that ministers were still finding their feet after the recent resumption of devolution.

Among her observations were that "ministers are just back… a new ministerial team… a real crisis which they can not control and it is scaring them".

In his email at the end of March, Sir David raised another issue.

He said the deputy first minister "revealed what has been increasingly clear with Sinn Féin ministers in recent days is a growing fear of being held corporately responsible, or liable, if things go badly wrong".

He added: "We need to find a way to get them off this hook.

"If it becomes clear that their main priority is to lay out an audit trail and avoid any future blame then everyone else will do the same thing.

"And we'll be paralysed."

The email was sent just after 21:00 on Thursday, 26 March, 2020.

He ended the note saying: "Need to sleep on these two challenges."