From Iceland — Former Interior Minister: "Should Have Resigned" Sooner

Former Interior Minister: “Should Have Resigned” Sooner

Published April 27, 2015

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Kastljós

Former Minister of the Interior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir has returned to parliament, after being away since last November, when she resigned from her Interior Minister position.

In an interview with Ísland í dag, she expressed regret with how she responded to police investigations of the ministry.

“I definitely should have resigned when the investigation began,” she said, admitting that she had made “various mistakes” that she wished she could take back. She added that the only way she could earn back the trust of the people would be for her to continue her political carreer.

In fact, according to the Parliamentary Ombudsman reports, Hanna Birna repeatedly interfered with police investigations of her ministry, as they were trying to find the source of a leaked memo which impugned Nigeria asylum seeker Tony Omos. Ultimately, one of her assistants – Gísli Freyr Valdórsson – confessed to preparing the memo and leaking it to select members of the press.

Related:

Completely Unthinkable

Court Confirms Deportation of Tony Omos

Tony Omos Receives Settlement In Leak Case

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