SINN Féin’s Raymond McCartney has said the fact the DUP received £425,000 from a shadowy group of British corporate business interests to fund its Brexit campaign makes a mockery of its manifesto commitment to transparency.
The DUP finally admitted last Friday that it received the money from a Tory-back group in England to bang the drum for Brexit last year.
The revelation came days after DUP leader Arlene Foster claimed she didn’t know the exact amount the party received to support the Brexit campaign in Britain.
Out of the £425,000, the DUP pocketed £9,000 for its own party coffers.
The Sinn Fein Foyle Assembly candidate said: ““There have been consistent calls for the DUP to come clean on donations to the party for their Brexit campaign.
“Just as we saw with the drip feed of information about the DUP’s handling of the RHI scandal, the DUP have been brought to the point of disclosing some information.
“However, it is still not clear who is in the group that gave the DUP £425,000, and what the group got in return for this huge donation.
“Instead we have the name of a secretive body, no list of members and donors. This makes a mockery of their manifesto claim of transparency.
“It now appears that the DUP spent at least £370,000 on newspaper advertisements and campaign materials in Britain where they don’t stand for election. This raises serious questions about transparency.
“The public is entitled to expect integrity in the political process.
“These are key issues of accountability and transparency and the public have a right to know so they can make up their mind before they go to the polls next week.”
