Assembly rejects proposed TUV and People Before Profit changes to bill which will 'pave the way for MLA pay rise'

​However, UUP deputy leader Robbie Butler says the new laws should not have attracted controversy – saying the new body set up to decide how politicians are paid is “entirely independent”.

The Bill passed its latest stage in the Assembly on Tuesday, however Mr Gaston may return with further amendments on how expenses will be policed in light of the McMonagle scandal.

Questions had been raised about how the former Sinn Fein press officer, who was convicted of child sex offences last year, had been paid. At one point he had three different jobs – and an investigation into the matter said that may have been “a misuse of public money”.

Speaking after the latest debate, Mr Gaston said his amendments to the bill – which he said were intended to strengthen oversight of Stormont’s expenses regime and bring it into line with Westminster standards – “were not even permitted onto the order paper”.

The North Antrim MLA said: “Some may attempt to justify these developments by comparing them to procedures in London. If so, will those same voices now advocate for legislation introducing Westminster-style penalties, including imprisonment, for fraudulent claims? Unsurprisingly, no such assurances were offered”.

He added: “It is particularly troubling that the Assembly chose to vote down an amendment that would have required public consultation on future changes to MLA pay and benefits. Public consultation is a fundamental element of the legislative process. Yet in this case, the Bill was introduced without public consultation — an approach that would not be tolerated for Executive or Private Members’ Bills”.

UUP MLA Robbie Butler said independence of the pay body proposed in the legislation forms “the absolute core” of the bill.

He said that others had sought “to make it politically contentious”, and said attempts by the People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll to ensure pay rises didn’t go beyond inflation would undermine the independence of the pay board.