Viscount Brookeborough, as Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh, lights a torch for the Queen's 90th birthday last year

A member of the House of Lords has emerged as a major recipient of Northern Ireland’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

Viscount Brookeborough, a hereditary peer and grandson of Basil Brooke, the late Northern Ireland prime minister, had a large wood pellet boiler installed at his Fermanagh estate and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the RHI.

The 1,000-acre estate, Colebrooke Park, is one of Northern Ireland’s most luxurious stately homes. It has a spa and a business conference centre, which are also heated by the wood pellet boiler.

As Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh, Lord Brookeborough is The Queen’s representative in the county and is a former member of the Northern Ireland policing board. A source close to Lord Brookeborough confirmed that he had signed