'I'm the victim of massive smear campaign' - former Minister tells RHI Inquiry

A former Stormont Minister has claimed the DUP "fitted" him up, the Executive Office briefed against him and a journalist advised the DUP how to discredit him.

Jonathan Bell made the claims while giving evidence to the RHI inquiry into how costs for a green energy scheme spiralled.

Mr Bell was the minister at the Enterprise Department which oversaw the publicly funded Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

He claimed that DUP special advisers were reluctant to introduce cost control tariffs to the scheme.

He was suspended by the party in December 2016 after giving an interview to the BBC about the RHI scheme.

"I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign." he told the inquiry.

Mr Bell said a journalist gave the DUP advice on how to discredit him and an Executive Office official described him as a "monster who had to be put to sleep."

Mr Bell told the inquiry that had he known about budget concerns he would have closed it to new entrants in May 2015. Credit: UTV

The RHI scheme was developed to encourage businesses to switch from fossil fuels to green alternatives.

By the summer of 2015, the cost to the taxpayer was starting to spiral as companies realised how lucrative the incentives were.

Mr Bell told the inquiry that he was not made aware of budget concerns around the scheme until "some time around the summer".

He also said that had he known about the budget concerns around thescheme, he would have closed it to new entrants as early as May 2015.