'No Confidence' Vote Passed In Wilson

Accusations of being both "small-minded" and of making "outrageous remarks" have led to a vote of 'no confidence' being passed in Stormont Environment Minister Sammy Wilson - by his own department's committee.

It follows soon after Mr Wilson's decided to block a national government-backed advertisement campaign on climate change.

Mr Wilson, who frequently makes clear that he does not believe that climate change is man-made, said the advertisement was part of an "insidious propaganda campaign".

Now, some members of the committee said Mr Wilson's views were not consistent with that of the Executive and a 'no confidence' vote was passed by six votes to four, with one abstention.

The SDLP's Tommy Gallagher, who proposed the motion, said there was "concern" at Mr Wilson's comments.

"The view is that the minister's remarks are seen as outrageous and his approach a very small-minded one," said Mr Gallagher.

"I feel we need to be seen to be taking environment issues much more seriously than the minister appears to be taking them."

However, Mr Wilson's DUP party colleague, Peter Weir, said committee members were playing "silly games".

"They're accusing the minister of doing things as a point scoring exercise from a publicity point of view, and that's clearly what the intention behind this is," he said.

The committee agreed to write to the Office of First and Deputy First Minister to seek clarification on the Executive's climate change policy.

See: NI Environment Minister Questions CO2 Effects

See: Cool Reception For Minister's Climate Change Stance

(BMcC/JM)