There is no evidence to back up finding that I broke ministerial code - Gordon Lyons

Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has said there is "no evidence to back up" the findings of a standards watchdog which found that he broke the ministerial code of conduct.

Lyons was investigated over a Facebook post he published in June, after immigrant families were forced to flee their homes during racially-motivated riots.

The report concluded that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) minister's post "may have heightened tensions and contributed to further unrest" during the riots.

But Lyons denied encouraging protests and said some of the findings reached by the Assembly Commissioner for Standards were "based on statements that are simply not factually correct".

"The commissioner has said that I endorsed and encouraged protests - at no stage did I do that.

"I reject that completely and there's no evidence to back that up," Lyons said.

Lyons was the minister responsible for housing at the time of last June's incident.

He posted a public message on social media after immigrant families who were forced out of their homes in Ballymena were given shelter in Larne Leisure Centre.

The post attracted 65 complaints to the Assembly's Standards Commissioner.

Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme, Lyons said his post "called for peace, it called for calm, it called for non-violence".

He said many of those who complained about him believed he had "revealed the location of vulnerable people" during anti-immigrant protests.

"I did not," Lyons insisted.

"Those who had disgracefully been moved out of their homes were in the care of the Housing Executive.

"I did not reveal any location, so I believe that they got that wrong".

Lyons also claimed his position had been "vindicated" by some of the evidence contained in the report, saying the commissioner had found "no evidence to support a connection between my post and violence".

However, Matthew O'Toole from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) accused Lyons and the DUP of arrogantly dismissing the watchdog's findings.

"I don't know how you can claim that a report which finds you to have breached the ministerial code - in fact it finds two different breaches of the ministerial code - I don't know how someone with a straight face can claim that that report vindicates you," O'Toole said.

He added the fact that Lyons "doubled down" after being found in breach of the code showed "the DUP feel that they are above any form of accountability".

Sinn Féin assembly member Colm Gildernew, chair of Stormont's communities committee, said the minister "should acknowledge his failure".

He said the scrutiny committee would be "revisiting" the matter and could seek to bring a no-confidence motion to the floor of the assembly.

"It's very clear and unequivocal from the commissioner, and I think what we're seeing today from the minister is deflection, we're seeing weasel words," he said.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the conclusions of the standards watchdog report were "totally irrational" and "do not stand up to scrutiny".

Speaking to reporters at Stormont, he said the report would have a "chilling effect on how public representatives engage in public discourse".

"There is no evidence to stack alongside her conclusions, and so I see it as wrong," he said.

"I see it as foolhardy and I don't see it as in any way within the interests of good government in Northern Ireland."

The Facebook post was published on 11 June 2025, following two nights of violence targeted at immigrant families, some of whom were forced to flee their homes during attacks by masked protesters.

Lyons' message informed his Facebook followers that a "number of individuals were temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre" following unrest in Ballymena.

He explained that neither he nor his DUP colleagues had been consulted prior to that move.

Lyons' message went on to confirm that all of the people who had been sheltering in Larne Leisure Centre had since been moved out of the town and were "in the care of the Housing Executive".

He added: "Protesting is of course a legitimate right but violence is not and I would encourage everyone to remain peaceful."

Hours after the post was published, Larne Leisure Centre was attacked by protesters and set on fire.

Lyons published a photo of the centre in flames and condemned the attack, saying there were "absolutely no excuse for what has taken place in Larne".

However, he was criticised by other politicians and commentators, who accused him of fuelling tensions by publicising the location of people who had fled their homes.

The investigation was carried out by Melissa McCullough, the then Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards.

She concluded Lyons' actions demonstrated a "failure of leadership in managing a sensitive and potentially volatile situation".

She found the Facebook message he published during the riots "failed to prioritise public safety" by omitting key details about who was using the centre.

She also said his post "lacked any expression of empathy" for those forced to shelter in the leisure centre, saying it "fell short" of the compassion expected in a crisis.

McCullough added that his post appeared "to have been shaped by personal or political considerations".

Lyons pointed out the police had asked the DUP to make it clear on 11 June that people who had been sheltering in the leisure centre were no longer in the building.

The housing minister also admitted he would not have agreed to the use of Larne Leisure Centre as a shelter for people fleeing if he had been consulted about it first.

"I think that at that time, knowing that tensions were as high as they were, to put them back somewhere within the borough in a public place would not have been the correct thing to do."

He added "the care of these people was paramount" and the leisure centre was not the solution he would have chosen because of those tensions.

He also argued that being accused of breaching the code of conduct by failing to show empathy was a "landmark" finding that has introduced "a new standard".