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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Brendan Hughes

MLAs 'skip queue' to see Queen lying in state with Stormont offering to arrange travel

The Stormont Assembly is offering to arrange travel for MLAs heading to London to see the Queen lying in state.

And similar to MPs, MLAs also appear to have been allowed to skip the miles-long queue in which members of the public have had to wait for many hours.

Footage from Westminster Hall on Thursday appeared to show a number of DUP MLAs filtering into the front of the queue from a side entrance to view the coffin.

Read more: Arlene Foster hits out at 'intense' media coverage of Sinn Fein meeting King Charles

The DUP and parliamentary authorities did not respond to repeated requests for a comment.

The Assembly also did not answer questions on how much funding has been made available to cover MLAs' travel costs.

The queue for members of the public has stretched to four miles long, with some people having to wait in line for eight hours.

MPs can view the Queen's coffin ahead of her funeral on Monday without having to queue, and can also bring up to four guests.

Parliamentary House staff can also avoid the line, while accredited journalists who have access to the parliamentary estate can bypass the queue by booking time slots.

In an email to MLAs, the Stormont Assembly said it had "received an allocation" for party representatives to attend the reception of the Queen's coffin on Wednesday and the lying in state.

It said: "It is proposed that spaces will be allocated to parties and that the Assembly will organise the relevant travel for members to travel as a delegation on each occasion."

It was expected that around 40 MLAs would be facilitated across three dates, according to the correspondence seen by Belfast Live. We asked the NI Assembly for a list of the MLAs who availed of this, but they did not release this information. Belfast Live also contacted other parties to ask who took up the offer but they were unable to tell us.

Stormont officials were asked what level of funding had been made available to pay for MLAs' travel to the events, and which MLAs have availed of the opportunity.

The Assembly did not directly answer these questions, but in a statement a spokeswoman said: "On the historic occasion of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, places have been provided across a number of the ceremonial events in London this week to enable all elected members of the devolved legislatures who wish to, to have the opportunity to represent their respective institutions and constituents to pay their respects.

"It is normal for the Assembly, as with all of the devolved legislatures, to support the arrangements for members when they are attending official events of this level and nature."

Former Prime Minister Theresa May and former Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers were among the MPs seen paying their respects to the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall.

A group of DUP MLAs including Gary Middleton, Phillip Brett and Diane Forsythe were also seen filing past the coffin on Thursday afternoon.

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