A former special adviser to DUP leader Arlene Foster has said he "should have dug deeper" into the details of the ill-fated renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme. DUP leader Arlene FosterInquiry panellist Dame Una O'Brien said she was not getting "any flavour" of Dr Crawford "challenging inconsistencies" in the detail before the scheme went ahead. Dr Crawford said: "At that time in Northern Ireland there was no industry set up for renewable heat." It was suggested to Dr Crawford that this was an example of a minister signing a "blank cheque", not knowing what the exact costs were. Dr Crawford said he believed a note was taken at every meeting he was at.

Source: Evening echo April 16, 2018 19:52 UTC