The 'Del Boy' Robinsons - sleazy, greedy and discredited.

Greed, money, sex and sleaze. The Iris Robinson affair stank of each.

First Minister, Peter Robinson was clearly implicated, but there was no smoking gun. The absence of any specific proof of wrong-doing seems to be enough for the DUP. It has limped along with its discredited leader and even managed something of a revival as the Labour government sought to bolster its position.

Now, however, the BBC has produced further seedy revelations.

Remember the Robinson's property developer friend, Fred Fraser? He was one of the men from whom Iris procured £50,000 for her teenage paramour, Kirk McCambley. It transpires that he also sold the Robinsons a valuable piece of land, worth at least £75,000, for the grand total of £5. A generous chap, I'm sure you'll agree!

During the height of the property boom its value sky-rocketed, before the pair sold it, again for the princely sum of £5, despite its market value now topping £220,000. The lucky recipient was another property developer, who was seeking to build a new estate of houses. None of the requisite declarations of interest were made, at council or parliamentary level.

Anyone who has worked in the accountancy sector will appreciate that HM Revenue and Customs are particularly interested in land which changes ownership for nominal sums. Any accountant worth his salt will warn a client that the taxman will treat the conveyance as if it were transacted at market value. The purpose is to prevent Capital Gains Tax wheezes.

The BBC has asked whether tax was paid on the full market value of the land, but is yet to receive a reply.

Once again the media's legitimate interest in the First Minister's affairs is being portrayed by the DUP as unreasonable. However the public has every right to know whether its representatives are involved in a series of dubious deals with property developers.

As the Paisleys clearly demonstrate, at least two families within the DUP thought it was within their rights to pursue their own enrichment by developing mutually beneficial relationships with property tycoons. People in Northern Ireland should be angry. Their trust has been betrayed.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sadly it's unlikely the good people of East Belfast will give Robbo the boot - makes you wonder what the man would have to do to piss off his unionist base enough to oust him.
Timothy Belmont said…
The latest revelation will affect Peter Robinson's electoral performance in East Belfast; but to what extent?

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