THE DUP's Ian Paisley has been fined £1,300 by the Electoral Commission for breaches to donation rules at a fundraising dinner.
The penalty relates to the North Antrim MP accepting payments from two councils to purchase tables at the event, which was addressed by senior Conservative Michael Gove.
In addition to the fine, Mr Paisley has also agreed to pay back a total of £2,600 to the two councils.
Mid and East Antrim and Causeway Coast and Glens councils each paid £1,500 for a table at the event in the Tullyglass hotel in Ballymena in September 2017.
As public bodies, councils are not permitted to donate to political parties under the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
The Electoral Commission found that the dinner was a fundraiser for Mr Paisley's constituency activities.
It ruled that £1,300 of each payment was considered a political donation, with the remaining £200 covering the cost of the meal.
Mr Paisley was fined £1,300 for failing to return donations from impermissible donors within a legal time limit of 30 days. He has until October 8 to pay the fine.
The DUP had previously denied the event was a party fundraiser.
A party spokesman yesterday said: "This event was not organised by the party but by Ian in his capacity as Member of Parliament for North Antrim, and the associated donations were received on that basis.
"Mr Paisley co-operated fully with the investigation and, while acting in good faith, he accepts the outcome of the report."
Mr Gove did not respond yesterday to repeated requests for a comment.
A local Conservative councillor in 2018 said Mr Gove had apologised for attending the dinner and was unaware the event was a DUP fundraiser.
TUV leader Jim Allister described the probe as "yet another Paisley scandal".
He said some "pertinent questions remain unanswered" for Mr Paisley to address.
"The fact that they have to be asked at all is testament to the damage being done to unionism and the standards expected of an MP," he added.
Sinn Féin North Antrim MLA Philip McGuigan said it was "frankly unacceptable that a local council used ratepayers' money for what was essentially a party political fundraiser".
"Local councils should represent everyone. It is equally unacceptable that the DUP consciously or otherwise failed to declare this donation," he said.
The dinner was among several DUP events attended by senior Tories – including Gavin Williamson, Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg – following their confidence-and-supply deal to bolster the minority Conservative government in 2017.
Questions began to mount after a DUP councillor described the Tullyglass event as a "DUP business dinner".
Some Mid and East Antrim councillors said they were not properly informed of the party's role when the council's chief executive Anne Donaghy proposed attending the event.
The Irish News later revealed how Ms Donaghy had been asked by Mr Paisley to send a £1,500 cheque to his constituency office to made payable to the hotel.
It was also revealed the Audit Office found that the council broke its own rules which had imposed a £500 spending limit on attending gala dinners or events.
Some councillors have also raised transparency concerns, as the council has since relaxed its rules to remove the spending limit and also allow senior staff to decide on payments for future events involving officials without seeking councillors' approval.
Mid and East Antrim council said it "takes its responsibilities in relation to financial prudence and accountability very seriously".
It said councillors approved attending the Tullyglass event in 2017 "without objection" and the council made a payment to the hotel electronically.
Causeway Coast and Glens council said it chose to attend the event in "good faith" and its payment was made by bank transfer directly to the hotel.
It added: "Since 2018, protocol and approvals now exist and are applied to govern attendance and involvement at external hospitality activities and events."
