Empey condemns Paisley's 'two-faced' finance claim

The Rev Ian Paisley was tonight accused of boosting the prospect of seeing another Sinn Féin Education Minister in the North.

Ulster Unionist (UUP) leader Sir Reg Empey lambasted his Democratic Unionist (DUP) rival a day after he announced his party would claim the Finance portfolio in the next Stormont government.

Sir Reg argued: “Not only do we have the utterly two-faced approach of the DUP in saying that they will take the Ministry of Finance to tackle water charges while still point-blank refusing to say whether they will go into government on March 26 but now, after all their abuse and mock incredulity over the last few years about Sinn Féin being in charge of education, their actions could allow Gerry Kelly or Barry McElduff to take the portfolio.

“This is the worst kind of political hypocrisy imaginable. It is all very well coming off with a line about wanting to stop water charges as we all do, but the hue and cry for years about education cannot go unchecked.

“The DUP should explain clearly why they have all but given a green light to Sinn Féin to take the Education Ministry.”

With the North’s controversial new water charges the most talked about campaign issue of the election campaign, the Democratic Unionists yesterday declared they would insist as a precondition to power sharing that England's Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown resolve the issue in his economic package to bolster devolution.

By claiming first the Finance and Personnel ministry, the DUP would not only be able to dictate water charging and rating policy but also the budget for other executive departments.

However, given the controversy over Martin McGuinness’s appointment as Education Minister during the last devolved government and his moves to scrap the 11 Plus, the Ulster Unionists claimed the DUP had given Sinn Féin the green light to claim the post again.

Sir Reg vowed: “I can pledge now that Ulster Unionists will take the Education portfolio if the opportunity arises, as our first choice.

“The simple outworking of the DUP’s decision to take finance is that by voting DUP unionists could be voting Sinn Féin into the education ministry.”