Kilclooney 'putting cart before horse'
ULSTER Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey hit back at former Stormont home affairs minister Lord Kilclooney for "putting the cart before the horse" when he criticised the party for their refusal to endorse devolution of policing and justice.
Sir Reg spoke out after the former MP and deputy leader of the Ulster Unionists said he understood the party's concerns about other issues such as education but that they were wrong to link those issues to justice powers.
"Ulster Unionists have historically always been for the transfer of security and, more so, policing to Northern Ireland," said Lord Kilclooney.
"The late Brian Faulkner, the prime minister (of Northern Ireland], said that devolution was useless at Stormont unless you had control of the policing and judicial system."
But the UUP leader said while he "agreed entirely" with Lord Kilclooney, and is in "favour of having a local minister", he added that the main point is "that we need to get the Executive right before introducing policing and justice".
"I have no argument with him on the principle and we have no problem with the principle, it is purely with the practicalities with the way it is working.
"Maybe John is not familiar with the Executive and it is hard to be if you are not in it. It does seem to me that it is putting the cart before the horse."
Lord Kilclooney, then John Taylor, was the last Northern Ireland minister to hold policing and justice powers.
The powers will now be devolved on April 12 after a 38-year gap.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland as marking the end to decades of strife.
Out of the 105 votes cast in the Assembly on Tuesday, a total of 88 supported the move, with 17 against.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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