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DUP minister Paul Givan cleared of ministerial code breach

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 13 Nov, 23:09 · Archive

DUP Education Minister Paul Givan has been found not to have broken the ministerial code over a fact-finding visit to Israel in October 2025.

DUP Education Minister Paul Givan has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over a fact-finding visit to Israel in October 2025. He attended as part of a delegation of unionist MLAs at the invitation of the Israeli government, having stated he went in his capacity as an MLA rather than as a minister.

The independent Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Stephen Wright, received seven complaints about the trip. Five of these were deemed inadmissible. His investigation began in February, with a report sent to the Assembly's Committee on Standards in April.

Mr Wright found no indication that the invitation had been extended to Mr Givan as a minister. He was satisfied that the respondent's conduct in participating in the delegation and visiting a school in Jerusalem did not breach any aspect of the ministerial code. The costs of the visit were covered by the Israeli Embassy, and the trip was properly declared on the Register of Member's Interests.

At a committee meeting on 29 April, members raised concerns that some issues had not been fully addressed and requested further assurance that a thorough investigation had been completed. Mr Wright subsequently provided a second report to the committee in September, reaffirming his finding that no breaches of the code had occurred.

DUP minister Paul Givan cleared of ministerial code breach
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In this story: Paul Givan · Stephen Wright · DUP · Israel · Jerusalem · Northern Ireland

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