D Tuesday, January 12, 2010 News Wifes toyboy affair sees first minister step back THE sex scandal that has rocked Northern Ireland has forced its most senior politician to temporarily step out of public life. First minister Peter Robinson said he needed to take time out to deal with family matters after being en- gulfed by his wifes adultery. Just hours after being given the backing of his DUP colleagues, Mr Robinson revealed he would stand down for six weeks. ColleagueArlene Foster is to assume the role. As a father and a husband, I need to devote time to deal with family mat- ters, he said. I continue to contend I have acted ethically and it is particu- larly painful at this time of great per- sonal trauma that I have to defend myself from an unfounded and mis- chievous allegation. Mr Robinson has been reeling after it emerged his wife, Iris, 60, had an By John Higginson Chief Political Correspondent affair with a then 19-year-old cafe owner Kirk McCamberley. He has been facing calls for his res- ignation after it was claimed he failed to report his wife to the parliamentary authorities for obtaining 50,000 (55,000) in loans for her toyboy lov- er. Mrs Robinson, who is being treat- ed for depression, was sacked from the party. She has been linked to three more affairs, including Mr McCamb- leys late father Billy, her butcher. Mrs Foster said internal investiga- tions had already indicated that Mr Robinson did not break any rules. However, Sinn Fin have been pressing for more answers as to how much Mr Robinson knew of his wifes loans and have warned the peace process could suffer in the long term. Stormy: First minister Peter Robinson leaves to patch up his life AP Lover: Kirk Support: Foster Depressed: Iris Robinson Remark: Former US president Bill Clinton Obama was office boy, said Clinton BILL CLInton has sparked anger after saying Barack obama was little more than a coffee boy a few years ago. the ex-president made the comment during US President obamas Democratic primary race with Mr Clintons wife Hillary, a new book claims. A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee, the authors claim Mr Clinton said of Mr obama in a phone call to the late teddy Kennedy. the controversial book, Game Change, is based on more than 200 interviews with the 2008 candidates and their staff. one quote from Senator Harry Reid describes Mr obama as a light-skinned African-American with no negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one. Mr Reid has since had to apologise. Vision of a low-rise Dublin A WEBSITE which goes live today allows the public to have their say on keeping high-rise buildings off the Dublin skyline. Dublin City Council will post a seven-year development plan online including efforts to get 15 per cent of people coming into the city centre to use bikes. Michael Stubbs, assistant city manager, said the aim is to let as many people see the draft vision for Dublin. We want to hear how people think we can best balance the needs of a growing, dynamic city with the need to protect and conserve its identity, he said. The plan states that Dublin should remain a low-rise city and that high-rise buildings should only appear in the western outskirts and the Docklands. We want to create a shared vision of success, Mr Stubbs said. We hope people will give us their views. The website, dublincitydevelopmentplan.ie, is live until March 12. 1m winner too busy to go away A CATERING boss won more than 1million in a lottery syndicate but cant take a holiday yet because of work commitments. Pat Dale, 45, found out she had won a share of 10million (11m) on New Years Eve but kept it secret from friends as she partied the night away. The 45-year-old, one of six in the winning group, who meet regularly at the Irish Centre in Newcastle, UK, said: I got a phone call on New Years Eve to say we had won on Lotto and I didnt believe it. Things like this never happen to us. I then called a friend in the syndicate to tell her and she didnt believe it either. After we had all telephoned each other a couple of times and everyone still thought it was wind-up, Julie [McGregor] from the syndicate texted us all a photo of the ticket as proof. She celebrated the New Year with 14 friends at a hotel in Newcastle but still kept the win a secret. The only thing I did was a buy a bottle of champagne and my friend asked me why I was splashing out, had I won the lottery? she added. But Ms Dale, who runs her own catering firm, cant go away until the end of April because she is too busy at work. Cheers: Pat Dale, right, and Julie McGregor index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html