Access NI verification is required against McMonagle checks

There needs to be a “full and external review” of Access NI controls following the Michael McMonagle row, according to the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Jim Gamble questioned whether the system requiring criminal records checks was “fit for purpose”.

Last month, McMonagle pleaded guilty to a number of child sex offenses, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was employed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in September 2022 after references from former Sinn Féin colleagues raised no concerns about his suitability for employment.

Access NI offers basic, standard and advanced checks.

Depending on the level of control, a person’s certificate will show different previous convictions and warnings.

An expanded background check would include information about ongoing investigations.

According to Mr Gamble, the BHF recruitment process had decided that the position McMonagle had applied for did not require an advanced assessment.

The charity’s chief executive, Fearghal McKinney, previously told BBC News NI: “The BHF is confident that we have met all necessary legal and moral obligations throughout the process.”

“In order for you to be subject to enhanced scrutiny, you must be applying for a role with children and vulnerable adults or in a position of trust,” Mr Gamble told Good Morning Ulster on Wednesday.

“It depends on how often you are left alone with children and young people, that determines whether you need this check or not, and that is the hurdle you have to overcome.”

Mr Gamble believes that anyone who has a critical role – communicating through, for and on behalf of, representing and advocating on behalf of an organization – must automatically be included in an enhanced review.

Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald has apologized for the party’s handling of the investigation.

In a statement on Monday, she confirmed that she had ordered a “complete overhaul of governance procedures” at Sinn Féin.

McDonald said she was outraged by McMonagle’s crimes and said the decision by two former Sinn Féin staffers to give him a reference was “unforgivable and completely unacceptable”.

McDonald added that she would ensure that “clear processes” were in place so that anyone suspended or terminated from employment with Sinn Féin would not face “future issues in relation to the return of passports”, and to make it absolutely clear that individual employees cannot provide references.

Mr Gamble said any inquiry into Sinn Féin must be an “external, independent review without any gaps so that people can see that you are committed to not just saying the right things but also actually doing the right things”.

He said an independent review needed to make a judgment about whether some people in the party considered protecting the organization’s reputation more important than protecting vulnerable young people.

The Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment.