A call has been made for former Mid and East Antrim Council chief executive Anne Donaghy to be stripped of her OBE honour after she was convicted of deleting an email under the Freedom of Information Act.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows said he has written to the Cabinet Office “calling for the forfeiture of her OBE” that she received in 2020 for services to local government.
Conviction details
It comes after Donaghy, 56, was convicted of two charges at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. These were deleting an email and having procured the deletion of an email to prevent the disclosure of information through the FoI Act.
The case concerned an email to then DUP leader Arlene Foster in February 2021 concerning the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol at Larne Port, which is within the council area. Donaghy was fined £750 for each of the two charges she was convicted of.
Response and next steps
Her legal team has said she will “vehemently contest” the findings. Donaghy received an OBE in The Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List for Services to Local Government and the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Burrows said: “Let’s be clear. That honour was given for services to local government, and now Anne is convicted in relation to her duties as a chief executive in local government I believe that OBE should be stripped, and I have written to the Cabinet Office to that effect.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim Council said it is “committed to the highest standards of governance, transparency and information management”. “We acknowledge the verdict and will carefully consider the outcome and any implications arising from it,” they added.
