Police Federation chair's frustration at lack of access to NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris

The NIO has stressed that policing and police funding are “primarily devolved matters,” when asked to clarify why the NI Secretary has not agreed to meet the police federation (PFNI).​
By Mark Rainey
Published 24th May 2023, 15:43 BST
Updated 24th May 2023, 15:53 BST
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During the representative body’s annual conference yesterday, the PFNI tweeted a photograph of the empty seat reserved for Chris Heaton-Harris, along with the message: “@chhcalling turned down requests for meetings & the invitation to attend Conference. His absence ‘is testament to an out-of-touch @GOVUK & a Sec of State who seemingly couldn’t care less, or care about our policing Service or about you or your colleagues who do what you do daily.’”​Former senior PSNI officer Roy McComb, who also served as the deputy director at the National Crime Agency, tweeted in response: “I can’t remember a SOSNI ever declining an invitation to attend at @PoliceFedforNI conference. An explanation is surely in order?”

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson did not respond to the “out of touch” claim, but said: "The UK Government fully supports the excellent work that the Police Service of Northern Ireland undertakes to keep people in Northern Ireland safe, often in exceptionally challenging circumstances. "Policing in NI, and police funding, are primarily devolved matters. It is for the devolved administration to determine the allocation of funding to the PSNI from the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) block grant.”

The spokesperson added: “The prioritisation of police resourcing is the responsibility of the Department of Justice, working with the wider NIE."