The local government standards watchdog has confirmed it is investigating a complaint against Sinn Féin councillor JJ Magee.
The north Belfast councillor has been suspended from the party “without prejudice” following an allegation that he exchanged inappropriate online messages with a minor.
Mr Magee sent his apologies for his non-attendance at on Monday night’s Belfast City Council’s monthly meeting.
Sinn Féin national chairperson Declan Kearney said in a statement that the party whip had been removed and the allegations were forwarded to social services and police, in compliance with the party’s safeguarding policy.
The PSNI said it received a report in June 2024 but “no criminal offences were detected”.
“Safeguarding assessments and engagement with other statutory bodies were conducted at the time,” the police statement said.
Mr Magee’s lawyer KRW Law said in a statement that he “denies any allegation of inappropriate conduct and in particular any conduct which may have occasioned a breach of the code of conduct for councillors”.
The solicitors said the complaint against its client had been made to the local government commissioner for standards and that Mr Magee had lodged a 12,000-word, 38-page rebuttal.
The statement said the councillor had not made Sinn Féin aware of the complaint as there was “no substance” to it and he believed the matter would be resolved quickly by the commissioner.
The law firm insisted the complaint was “selective” and involved editing of signification portions of messages sent and received over a three-month period.
“Our client asserts that there is not a single line in any message sent by him which could be considered to be inappropriate,” the statement said.
The Local Government Commissioner for Standards confirmed that it had received a complaint and that it was currently under investigation.
It is understood the complaint was first received during the summer, as the assessment process before it is escalated to a full investigation takes a number of weeks to complete.
“We received an allegation regarding a potential breach of the code of conduct by a councillor in Belfast City Council,” the commissioner’s office said.
“The allegation is now under investigation.”
Mr Magee’s suspension is the latest in a series controversies to beset Sinn Féin in recent weeks.
The party has faced criticism over its handling of a series of controversies, including those involving former press officer Michael McMonagle and ex-senator Niall Ó Donnghaile.
Two Sinn Féin press officers resigned in September after it emerged they provided job references for McMonagle while he was under police investigation for sex offences.
The 42-year-old from Limewood Street, Derry, who later admitted a series of offences including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, secured a job with the British Heart Foundation, which with the charity unaware of the allegations.
Last month, it emerged that Mr Ó Donnghaile, a former Belfast lord mayor and Sinn Féin’s leader in the Seanad, had resigned from the party in December last year after accusations that he sent inappropriate text messages to a teenager.
Sinn Fein referred that matter to the PSNI and social services last September, but no criminal investigation was undertaken.
Separately last month, it emerged that a Sinn Féin member had resigned from the party after admitting involvement in an incident where a portrait of former DUP lord mayor Lord Wallace Browne was damaged at Belfast City Hall.
