North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston has been suspended from the Northern Ireland Assembly for two days, after he told the chair of Stormont’s Executive Office committee to “breathe”.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MLA made the remarks in October 2024 when First Minister Michelle O’Neill appeared before the committee. The chair of the committee, Paula Bradshaw, held a meeting beforehand with the First Minister.
Gaston asked: “How can you limit what members ask?”, to which Bradshaw responded: “I haven’t said I was going to limit, did I say I was going to limit? Did I say I was going to limit? No, I didn’t.”
“Take a step back, you’re okay, you’re okay, breathe,” Gaston responded.
Mr Gaston was referred to Stormont’s Standards Commissioner by Bradshaw.
Melissa McCullough, who completed the report, said the “breathe” comment was “both unreasonable and excessive” and “may reasonably be perceived as condescending and patronising in tone.”
In my view, Mr Gaston’s comment was both unreasonable and excessive, as it served to undermine the authority of the Chair by implying that she was emotionally unbalanced or incapable of managing the proceedings—thereby casting doubt on her competence. The directive to “breathe” can reasonably be perceived as dismissive or invalidating, suggesting that the Chair’s response was exaggerated or inappropriate. It is important to recognise that phrases such as “breathe” or “calm down” can, particularly in professional and formal settings, function less as attempts to de-escalate and more as mechanisms to silence, dismiss, or diminish the contributions of the person being addressed.
– Commissioner for Standards, Melissa McCullough
The report does note that Mr Gaston did apologise to Ms Bradshaw for the comment, and that it was accepted.
The suspension was confirmed following a vote in the chamber on Monday evening. Reports from the Standards Commissioner are given to the Committee on Standards and Privileges, who then recommend a sanction, that is voted on by MLAs.
It passed with 40 ayes to 27 noes. Sinn Féin, Alliance and the SDLP voted for the two-day ban, whilst the DUP and UUP voted against it.
TUV leader Jim Allister called it “a witch hunt orchestrated by the Alliance Party and their allies in Sinn Féin.”
He criticised the two-day suspension, saying it “robbed constituents”, and that the Assembly has “always struggled with scrutiny.”
A spokesperson for Alliance said: “Only one MLA has been found in breach of the code of conduct in this case, and that is Timothy Gaston.”
“Statements from the TUV this morning are nothing more than misleading conjecture and distraction. Such commentary only further undermines standards in the Assembly.”
