Stormont civil servant suspended

Stormont devolution suspended amid spying allegations

A civil servant questioned last week by police investigating IRA intelligence gathering at Stormont has been suspended on full pay.

The man was released on Friday without charge.

A spokesman for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister at Stormont confirmed that a member of staff had been suspended while the police inquiry continues.

The arrested man had access to the Stormont offices of former first minister David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist Party leader, and SDLP leader Mark Durkan, the former deputy first minister.

Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive was suspended on 14 October following a row over allegations of IRA spying within the Northern Ireland Office.

Four people, including Denis Donaldson, head of Sinn Fein's administration at the Northern Ireland Assembly, were charged last month after police seized documents in raids on republican homes.