See Also: The Robinson Affair

The BBC's Spotlight programme has revealed the financial dealings of Iris Robinson, the unfaithful wife of Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson.

Brian Walker blogs on the political site Slugger O'Toole about whether Peter Robinson may have breached the rules on accountability, something he notes the first minister has denied. But he says questions remain.

"Does knowledge of any potential or alleged breach of the rules by a spouse or partner entail breach of the rules by oneself?"

Elsewhere there are three Facebook pages dedicated to Mrs Robinson's young lover, one with more than 3,000 fans less than a day after Kirk McCambley's name moved into the public domain.

Writing in the Belfast Telegraph investigations correspondent David Gordon said that on Friday the DUP was waking up to a new reality:

"Revelations about sexual indiscretions and questions over financial dealings can be damaging for any politician and any political party.

But the DUP is not just any party. Its roots lie deep in fundamentalist conservative Protestantism and a brand of religion personified by Ian Paisley, who founded it and towered over it as leader until 2008."

In the Republic the Splintered Sunrise bloggives a precis of the programme, noting that Northern Ireland is a small place, it says this has implications for political transparency:

"Politicians and business people know each other very well. There are lots of informal links, and especially in the fundamentalist community it's quite common for business deals to be concluded on a handshake, without the need for anything so vulgar as a contract.

The only way you can guard against corruption is to have government transparency and a press that does its job. On both counts the north has been lacking."

Writing on the left wing Cedar Lounge Revolution, contributor Garibaldy says he believes Peter Robinson will survive, but that it is not guaranteed.

"The slow fall of the Paisleys, partly due to Ian Jr's relationship to a property developer, cannot be repeated here, with Iris already gone. But can Peter survive?"

David Vance, on his A Tangled Web blog says that Mrs Robinson should resign.

Elsewhere on his site he announces that he has joined Jim Allister's Traditional Unionist Voice party, which bitterly opposed the DUP's decision to share power with Sinn Fein. But it is the wider issue that concerned him:

"Last year, we had the scandal of the Expenses scam. We start a New Year with these revelations - is it any wonder people get turned off from politics? It is important that all public figures behave honourably and transparently."

Links in full

Brian Walker | Slugger O'Toole | Did Peter break any rules
David Gordon | Belfast Telegraph |DUP wakes up to a new reality
Splintered Sunrise | Splintered Sunrise blog |Jesus loves you more than you know
Garibaldy | The Cedar Lounge Revolution |Spotlight on the Robinsons
David Vance | A Tangled Web |Spotlight on the Robinsons