Iris Robinson questioned over developers’ money
Former DUP MP Iris Robinson has been interviewed as part of a police investigation, the BBC has learned.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation is over money Mrs Robinson obtained from two developers.
Earlier, the BBC said that the first minister Peter Robinson had also been questioned – this was not the case. The BBC apologises for the error.
It is understood two senior detectives visited Mrs Robinson in London earlier this month.
However later on Friday, a DUP spokesperson said Mr Robinson had not been interviewed by the police.
He also said he could not comment in relation to Mrs Robinson as she was no longer a member of the party.
The police visit in London was part of a criminal investigation which was launched in January.
The PSNI has not commented on the developments.
The former MP has been interviewed by officers from the organised crime branch.
They are probing allegations aired by the BBC’s Spotlight programme in January that Mrs Robinson had obtained £50,000 from two developers.
This was to give to her teenage lover to help him open a cafe in Belfast.
Mrs Robinson’s health was a consideration as to why police waited until very recently to talk to her.
She has spent most of the year in a London clinic where, according to a DUP statement in February, she’d been receiving psychiatric treatment.
According to BBC NI’s Julian O’Neill, two officers travelled to London to interview her in the presence of a solicitor.
But there was a problem. The tape recorder used by the police during the interview was later discovered to have malfunctioned.
It may mean she needs to be re-interviewed, or the police could rely on detailed notes they took.
