BBC sharpens its accusations

The BBC has today gone a step further than most other media outlets by stating categorically that Iris Robinson "broke the law". There are no libel-averse weasel-words like 'allegedly' or 'apparently'. No, the statement is clear and unambiguous:

"Mrs Robinson, who is a councillor, MP and MLA, procured money from two property developers to help her teenage lover Kirk McCambley to open a cafe.

She then attended the council meeting during which the cafe lease was awarded to Mr McCambley but broke the law by not declaring her financial interest." [bold added]

So it seems that, for the BBC, the story is sufficiently waterproof that they have no fear whatsoever of Iris Robinson's lawyers.

What the penalty is for such a breach of the law is not yet known, but no doubt there are a number of agencies looking into it. Perhaps Iris will follow her husband – Peter the Punt – into the ranks of the sentenced offenders.