Brian Stanley’s crisis at Sinn Féin is now blow for blow as pressure mounts

Simon Harris has put pressure on Sinn Féin following the explosive resignation of TD Brian Stanley, calling on the party to make public “as much information as possible” about the allegations against him.

It follows a day of claims and counter-claims between Mr Stanley and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald over an internal party investigation into the TD, which he called a “kangaroo court “, and who, according to the party, was referred to An Garda Síochána. .

Mr Stanley, a 40-year member of Sinn Féin, issued a damning statement through his lawyer on Monday, saying he had been the subject of “defamation”.

But on Monday evening Sinn Féin rejected his version of events, saying the TD “was advised to go to the gardaí to report this matter but chose not to do so”.

The Taoiseach, Mr Harris, said statements from Mr Stanley and Sinn Féin had only created more confusion and called on Ms McDonald to answer “very direct questions” on the subject.

Opposition parties also called on Ms McDonald to clarify the issue given Mr Stanley is the chair of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee – saying the party should not be allowed to choose his successor until the question will not have been resolved.

Mr Stanley said on Monday that a complaint against him had been “deliberately hidden from me” and that a mid-ranking member of the party “had asked other members not to be informed of its existence”.

He further said that he had raised “serious issues” with the internal “panel” in September and that it was at this stage that the matter should have been referred to the gardaí.

Sinn Féin said it contacted gardaí on Sunday, after Mr Stanley made his resignation public. Sinn Féin also said it had advised Mr Stanley to contact the gardaí himself, which he refused to do, and that the party had only contacted the authorities when the preliminary stage of its investigation internal was completed and after obtaining additional legal advice.

However, senior sources within the Garda Síochána have told the Irish Daily Mail that so far they have been unable to find evidence of the Sinn Féin referral in their systems. The Sinn Féin press office did not respond to questions from the Irish Daily Mail on Monday asking when, where and how the referral to the gardaí had been made.

However, in a statement on Monday evening, a party spokesperson said: “During the preliminary investigation a number of areas of concern were raised, including one by Brian Stanley. He was advised to go to the gardaí to report the matter but chose not to do so.

They added: “Following the completion of the preliminary phase of the investigation and report, and having taken further legal advice, the party referred both the complaint and the counter-allegation to the gardaí. It is now up to the gardaí to decide whether any of the matters we have brought to their attention require further investigation.

This is the fourth major controversy to hit the party in recent weeks, plunging Sinn Féin into crisis in the run-up to a general election. The main opposition party faces a bruising 90-minute session in the Dáil on child safety today, following its handling of the Michael McMonagle case in the North. McMonagle left the party after being accused of sexual abuse, but he was able to find work after receiving references from two of his ex-colleagues in the Sinn Féin press office. Both men have since left their jobs within the party.

Last week, Kildare TD Patricia Ryan resigned from the party claiming she had been silenced. And over the weekend it emerged that another party official had to leave the organization after inappropriate texts were sent to an Ógra Sinn Féin member.

However, Monday focused on the deadly row between Mr Stanley and Sinn Féin. Party leader Ms McDonald hit the airwaves on Monday morning, appearing on both Morning Ireland and RTÉ’s Newstalk Breakfast to try to deal with the situation. She defended her party’s internal processes and responding to questions about the resignation of Mr Stanley and two former Sinn Féin press officers, she said: “I am largely responsible for this party…I absolutely insist so that the rules and procedures are rigorously applied. What I can tell you is that, in accordance with party rules, a complaint made against Deputy Stanley has been investigated.

“The investigations were carried out from August to September and completed on October 4. A first complaint had been filed and it was entirely legitimate for the party to investigate. If the initial complaint… had been of a criminal nature it would have been made directly to An Garda Síochána, be very clear about that.

She said the matter was referred to gardaí out of an “abundance of caution”. Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, she rejected Mr Stanley’s allegation that he was being subjected to a “kangaroo court”, saying it was “pure deflection”.

Mr. Stanley released a statement through his lawyer on Monday after Ms. McDonald conducted her interviews. He said he informed Ms McDonald in person of the complaint against him on July 29. “The information had been deliberately withheld from me regarding the existence of a complaint or its nature. An “omerto” (sic) was in place. A mid-ranking party member ordered other members not to inform me about its existence.

He said he had to ask his lawyer to write to the party on July 31 to find out the nature of the complaint. “Meanwhile, from July 26, the process of defamation was well underway by a certain clique in the party and has continued unabated since then. “These and other facts mean there was a significant abuse of process and when this was brought to the attention of the Sinn Fein panel it was simply brushed aside.”

Mr Stanley said he had rejected the complaint. He welcomed Sinn Féin’s decision to refer the matter to gardaí and noted that Ms McDonald had “correctly stated that the complaint made against me was not of a criminal nature”.

The Taoiseach pointed out that MP Stanley’s statement “clearly contradicts a number of things said by Deputy McDonald”. “Today may have added another level of confusion, rather than providing clarity,” Mr Harris said. “I think it would be very helpful if as much information as possible was made public and the questions legitimately asked by the media and others were simply answered.”