Sinn Fein is calling for an urgent independent investigation to be carried out over the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme in Northern Ireland.

Mr Conor Murphy MLA said all information, including internal departmental papers, records, and email trails should be fully disclosed by all of those involved.

Mr Murphy said: "We need to get to the bottom of this and hold those responsible for this mess to account as a matter of urgency in order to restore public confidence.

"We also need to know who benefited from this flawed scheme and who made the decisions surrounding its design, operation, and failure to monitor and slowest to close the scheme.

"In addition there needs to be urgent action to reduce the impact of this debacle on our public finances and on our public services.

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"It is not acceptable that our health, education and other vital frontline services are suffering as a result of a scandal for which no-one has yet been held to account."

Meanwhile, Alliance Leader Naomi Long has said First Minister Arlene Foster should step aside while an independent inquiry establishes the facts surrounding the scheme.

She said: "The interviews given by the First Minister and Jonathan Bell raise more questions than they answer. They are internally inconsistent, as well as conflicting with each other.

"Given the limitations which we have seen previously with Public Accounts Committee inquiries and the significant sums of public money involved, we believe that an independent judge led inquiry may now be the only means of establishing the objective facts in a manner which is capable of restoring public confidence in the devolved institutions.

"We need to know why the scheme was kept open after the financial implications were known and who benefited, including those accepted into the scheme and contractors supplying equipment or fuel.

"At the very least, the First Minister should step aside for the duration of that investigation and all paperwork and correspondence relating to RHI should be released publicly as we have previously stated."

(CD/LM)