Thanks, but no thanks
There's more than a suspicion that when backbench MLAs ask a minister from their own party a question they have more than an inkling what the answer will be. Maybe, perish the thought, the minister has even suggested to the backbencher that a particular query would be helpful.
So when Michelle McIlveen was called to ask Arlene Foster for an update on the potential reduction in the level of local corporation tax she got a bit ahead of herself, and began by thanking the DETI minister for an answer she hadn't yet delivered. Ms McIlveen realised her mistake, sat back down, then got up again after the minister had finished with the words: "Take two; thank you. My face is probably the same colour as my jacket..."
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