Bobby Storey funeral: Council chief executive sorry over cremation row

The chief executive of Belfast City Council has issued a personal apology to families who could not attend cremation services on the day one was held for IRA man Bobby Storey.

His was the only service on 30 June where 30 people gathered for an outdoor committal at Roselawn Cemetery.

The council said its decision was an "error of judgment".

Meanwhile, legal advice is being sought for a Stormont inquiry into the deputy first minister attending the funeral.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Belfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie and senior officer Nigel Grimshaw said they recognised that events at Roselawn were "unacceptable" and they apologised to the other families affected "wholeheartedly and unreservedly".

"A report is being prepared for the council on the facts of the case," they continued.

"This will clarify the sequence of events that took place, and what measures the council will take to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again."

They also expressed concern about "certain statements and comments that have been made and the impact these may have had" on their council roles.

"We are formally raising these issues with party leaders and the chair of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee," they said.

"Due to an ongoing process, we will not be commenting further."

A special meeting of the council is set to take place on Friday.

The meeting was at the request of the DUP group on the council and the motion to be discussed proposes to commission an independent investigation into the events at Roselawn.

Analysis by Mark Simpson, BBC News NI

The 100-year-old Portland stone walls of Belfast City Hall have witnessed many controversies over the years but this is one of the most unusual.

Two of the most senior officers, including the chief executive, have explained their recent actions in a media statement issued by a Belfast public relations firm, rather than through the council press office.

There may be legal reasons for this, but it is still a remarkable turn of events.

At the same time, preparations are being made for an emergency council meeting on Friday.

It all comes in the middle of a pandemic and as the council is also working out how to deal with Eleventh Night bonfires at the weekend.

It should be an interesting council meeting.

At Stormont, DUP MLA Christopher Stalford proposed the suggestion to seek legal advice over whether the executive office committee can hold an inquiry into Michelle O'Neill's attendance at the funeral.

He said the body had a scrutiny role and should investigate whether the deputy first minister breached Covid-19 regulations.

The three Sinn Féin committee members strongly opposed the move.

The committee heard legal opinion would need to be sought to ensure the terms of reference into any inquiry it carried out did not have the potential to prejudice any police investigation into any regulation breaches.

On Wednesday, the assembly approved a motion calling for Ms O'Neill and Finance Minister Conor Murphy to apologise for attending the funeral of Mr Storey.

However, Sinn Féin maintains it acted in line with the regulations at all times, and Ms O'Neill repeated her apology to families whose grief she may have compounded by attending the funeral.

During the heated committee session, other DUP, UUP, SDLP MLAs and independent MLA Trevor Lunn backed Mr Stalford's proposal.

Sinn Féin's Pat Sheehan, Martina Anderson and Emma Sheerin argued the move was not in the remit of the committee.

"Can I make a suggestion? This issue has become toxic over the last week and I see no benefit to carrying on trying to investigate or pursue," said Mr Sheehan.

"Do we end up back at the precipice in danger of the institutions collapsing?

"If we keep prodding, these things tend to take on a momentum of their own.

"We all lose control and I would ask Christopher to take some time out and think about this again."

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said the committee could not turn a "blind eye" as it was the scrutiny body of the executive office.

His separate call to write to the executive office asking for an independent statutory inquiry to be set up into what happened at the funeral and events relating to Mr Storey's cremation at Roselawn Crematorium was put on hold, until the committee receives legal advice relating to Mr Stalford's proposal.