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Iris Robinson scandal

Peter and Iris Robinson pictured together in 2012

The Iris Robinson scandal, also known as Irisgate,[1][2][3] was a political scandal in Northern Ireland involving Iris Robinson, the wife of Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson. She was a serving MP and MLA for the Democratic Unionist Party, representing Strangford in both legislatures.

In January 2010, a BBC Northern Ireland documentary revealed that Iris Robinson had been involved in an extramarital affair in 2008 and had procured £50,000 in loans for her lover to finance a start-up restaurant. She had failed to declare her monetary interest in the restaurant, despite serving on the council which leased the premises to him.[4][1][5]

As a result of the restaurant issue, Iris Robinson was expelled from the DUP and she resigned her seats in both Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly, retiring from politics. Peter Robinson also unexpectedly lost his own Westminster seat (Belfast East) in the 2010 general election and some media reports attributed the result to the scandal.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Crichton, Torcuil (8 January 2010). "Robinson fights for political life amidst Irisgate scandal". The Herald. Scotland. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  2. ^ Fealty, Mick (12 January 2010). "Who really wins and loses in Irisgate". The Times. London. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  3. ^ "After Irisgate: the future's not Orange – or Green | spiked". Spiked-online.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  4. ^ Jamieson, Alastair (9 January 2010). "Iris Robinson expelled from DUP after financial row over affair with toyboy lover". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  5. ^ Henry McDonald (7 January 2010). "Peter and Iris Robinson face questions after BBC documentary". London: Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  6. ^ McKittrick, David (7 May 2010). "Stormont's First Minister unseated after year of scandal". The Independent. England. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. ^ McDonald, Henry (7 May 2010). "General election 2010: Peter Robinson loses seat to Alliance party". The Guardian. England. Retrieved 2 June 2014.

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