NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICIALS have ruled out bringing charges after damage to a portrait at Belfast City Hall last month, an incident police had been investigating as a hate crime.

A file had been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) by the PSNI, but prosecutors said there was “no reasonable prospect of conviction” due to significant gaps in the evidence.

These gaps included the absence of CCTV footage, no witnesses, and an inability to confirm who attended the event where the damage occurred.

The portrait was found damaged after an external group’s event on 19 October 2024.

Days later, First Minister Michelle O’Neill told the Assembly that a Sinn Féin employee had been suspended and then resigned after informing the party about “an incident regarding a portrait”.

However, a later witness statement from the party’s Chief Whip said the individual had made no admission and had denied knowledge of the damage.

When interviewed voluntarily by police, the person under investigation exercised their right not to answer questions.

The PPS said that while the suspension and resignation had raised public expectations, these circumstances alone did not amount to admissible evidence capable of supporting a prosecution.

It added that the decision was made “independently and impartially” and in line with its Code for Prosecutors.