No justice devolution if officers axed – DUP
THE Assembly will today press ahead with setting up a Stormont Department of Justice - despite a senior DUP MP ruling out devolving justice if the PSNI full time reserve is axed.
Yesterday morning, Jeffrey Donaldson said that retaining the more than 400 PSNI reserve officers - who are being axed - was a precondition to devolving policing and justice powers.
But Mr Donaldson later told the News Letter that he would be happy to accept the disbandment of the reserve if the officers were re-deployed as regular PSNI officers.
Chief Constable Matt Baggott announced on Friday that the full time reserve (FTR) will go within months.
Although the DUP-Sinn Fein bickering continues, the Assembly will today debate the Justice Bill – which sets out how the new Justice Department will be set up - in a discussion which is expected to stretch late into the evening.
The First and Deputy First Ministers will today also appear before the cross-party Assembly Executive and Review Committee to discuss the financial package agreed with Mr Brown for policing and justice.
But last night, the DUP denied rumours that Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will tomorrow travel to London for fresh talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the issue which most divides them.
The party spokesman said that the DUP was not expecting any more London talks this week.
Asked by the BBC's Stephen Nolan if there would be public confidence to devolve policing should the FTR be disbanded, he said: "I don't think there'll be the public confidence to enable it to happen."
He added: "If the FTR is disbanded, do I think that the policing and justice devolution will proceed? No. I don’t believe that it will.”
Mr Donaldson later said that he would be happy for the FTR to go if the officers were retained on permanent contracts.
“If there were circumstances in which the full time reservists were fully integrated into the police, that would actually be an excellent result because it would mean that their position no longer has a question over it; they are no longer on a temporary contract and I think that is something that a lot of them would welcome.”
Asked about that potential solution to the disagreement, Sinn Fein Policing Board member Alex Maskey told the News Letter that the Chief Constable had made clear to the board that he did not need the FTR officers but did not rule out such a deal.
TUV leader Jim Allister, who appeared on the radio with Mr Donaldson when the Lagan Valley MP made his comments, claimed credit for the DUP’s hardline stance on the FTR.
“Anyone who listened to this morning’s programme will have noticed that that was not what Mr Donaldson wanted to say,” he said.
However, Alliance leader David Ford, the favourite to become Justice Minister once the powers are transferred, accused Mr Donaldson of compromising the Chief Constable’s independence.
“Jeffrey Donaldson’s statement is extremely dangerous,” he said.
“It suggests that politicians should have the right to direct the Chief Constable in a way which is totally contrary to modern policing.”
Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy said that the Chief Constable’s decision to phase out the reserve is “devastating in the current climate, particularly for border communities”.
Last night, a DUP spokesman warned that the process for devolving policing and justice was only “half way” to completion.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
