Adrian Cochrane-Watson, Ulster Unionist MLA for South Antrim and party spokesperson on the economy has questioned whether the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Jonathan Bell is fit for the job, given his propensity for indulging in personal abuse at Assembly Question Time.
Mr Cochrane-Watson said:
“This week at Question Time, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Mr Bell indulged in some personal abuse against myself and other MLAs who were doing our jobs in holding him to account. For some reason he was overcome with a height obsession this week.
"I simply asked him to clarify the remarks he made recently when he said, "Don't let anyone tell you that manufacturing in Northern Ireland is in a difficult position." I reminded him of the context of the loss of over a thousand manufacturing jobs in County Antrim in a matter of a couple of weeks.
"Instead of clarifying his remarks, offering hope for those being made redundant, and a sense that he has a strategy to replace these jobs, all we heard was complacency, deflection, arrogance and abuse. We deserve better from a Minister of the Crown, and the embarrassed shuffling of his party colleagues on the benches beside him said it all.
"If Minister Bell can't stand the Ministerial heat, he should get out of the kitchen. I would suggest he takes the Christmas break to seriously re-think his approach and come back in the New Year with a new attitude."