State Papers 1987: ‘Cowardly’ Robinson was ‘taken down a peg’

Peter Robinson’s reputation for cowardice was shown up by his backfired “invasion” of a small village on the Irish border, Northern Ireland’s most senior civil servant said at the time.

Kenneth Bloomfield privately told an Irish diplomat he was delighted the senior DUP figure had been “taken down a peg” over the Clontibret affair, newly declassified government files reveal.

The head of the Northern Ireland civil service at the time said he shared the view of many unionists that Mr Robinson’s position in the community was damaged as a result of pleading guilty in a southern court.