A row has erupted over a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in Belfast.
The Belfast Newsletter reported all portraits were removed, after a senior civil servant was paid stg£10,000 (€10,977) in compensation was for being offended at having to walk past them.
But the new UK Secretary of State for the North, Julian Smith, suggested not all of them were taken down.
He said: "I was delighted to see a picture of her majesty in my office when I arrived at Stormont House for the first time."
But he added: "I also recognise the importance of the Northern Ireland Office being an open and inclusive place to work, able to attract highly-skilled people from across all parts of our community in Northern Ireland".
"As an employer in Northern Ireland, the NIO takes its obligations under the Northern Ireland Act and Fair Employment legislation seriously."
He later tweeted a small, framed photo on his office mantelpiece.
Proud to have a picture of Her Majesty The Queen on the mantle
piece of my private office at Stormont. I was delighted to see it there when I arrived last Friday. pic.twitter.com/wYbgNwRvWO— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) August 1, 2019
While DUP leader Arlene Foster hit out at the row, calling it "beyond parody".
It is beyond parody that there is a dispute over a portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, our head of state. Stormont House is the seat of HMG in Northern Ireland. All of this is the opposite of HM’s gracious and generous approach. pic.twitter.com/wp0MpTBIIS
— Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) August 1, 2019
