A Northern Ireland council which paid £1,500 for a table at a DUP dinner hosted by Ian Paisley breached its own policy by attending the event.

An internal report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) reveals Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has a policy which limits spending on attending gala dinners and events to £500.

The report, seen by the Belfast Telegraph, states the council "did not discuss its attendance at the dinner in line with this policy".

However, the report does say that "as an innovative and ambitious organisation, council wants to ensure opportunities for networking and promotion of Mid and East Antrim can be secured."

The council has undertaken to review its policy on attendance at gala dinners and will consider the approach taken by other local authorities.

Sinn Fein councillor Patrice Hardy said: “When I first raised fears that ratepayers’ money may have been used to fund the DUP through the decision to buy a table at this event, these concerns were dismissed by Mid and East Antrim Council.

“I was forced to submit Freedom of Information requests and to ask the Electoral Commission to intervene, simply to try and get answers as to how ratepayers money was being used by the council.

“Now the latest revelations from the Audit Office raise more questions about the actions of the council. Local authorities are not permissible donors to political parties but if it is the case that council officers knowingly breached their own policy in order to pay this money, that is a very serious matter.

“The ratepayers of Mid and East Antrim have a right to know whether the DUP benefited financially from the council’s money, and if so, what is going to be done about it.”

A revised policy, which would remove the spending limit and allow senior staff to use ratepayers' cash on events involving officials without seeking councillors' approval, has been presented to councillors at committee level and is to go to full council for approval.

Ms Hardy is against the change arguing councillors and not staff should have the final say on how money is spent on attendance at events.

“Given the history of this council, particularly the Paisley dinner, it seems incredible that council officers are now attempting to bring in a new policy that would not have any spending limit in place," she said.

“To compound matters, they are attempting to do this without seeking the approval of elected members first. That is entirely unacceptable. Elected councillors are the decision makers and I will be strongly opposing any move to subvert that principle.”

The fundraising dinner, hosted by DUP MP Ian Paisley, was held at Tullyglass Hotel, outside Ballymena, in September 2017.

The event was attended by Environment Secretary Michael Gove. Causeway Coast and Glens council also attended the event and paid £1,500 for a table.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council previously said the £1,500 money was paid to the hotel where the North Antrim Annual Business and Community dinner was held, and not to the DUP. The payment is being investigated by the Electoral Commission and the NIAO issued public recommendations to the councils.

A council spokesperson said: “Mid and East Antrim Borough Council takes its responsibilities in relation to financial prudence and accountability very seriously.

“Our robust and extensive compliance mechanisms ensure efficient, effective and transparent governance across all council functions.

“As with any expenditure, decisions taken under this policy, if ratified, will be subject to extensive and fully auditable scrutiny, both internally and externally.”

Belfast Telegraph