Five months on, police still haven’t asked for footage of Michelle O’Neill at Bobby Storey funeral

A well-placed source told the News Letter that although police approached broadcasters months ago and asked them to secure footage of the event, they have not been approached with a request to hand it over.

The PSNI, BBC and UTV each declined to comment.

It is unclear whether the PSNI have not asked for the footage because the investigation is moving so slowly, or whether there is so much public evidence available of what happened at the vast event that they do not need to gather footage which was not broadcast.

However, if that is the case then it raises questions as to why key individuals – including deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill – have not yet even been interviewed.

Yesterday the Nolan Show revealed that Sinn Féin’s lawyers only arranged an interview with police for Ms O’Neill and other senior party figures on Wednesday – the day that the News Letter revealed that almost five months after the funeral the police had not interviewed Ms O’Neill.

Having initially refused to comment, the PSNI yesterday released a statement on behalf of DCC Mark Webster from Cumbria Constabulary who has been asked to lead the investigation. He said that evidence had been gathered and two months ago he wrote to “a number of people suspected of having breached the regulations”. He said interviews will take place “in due course”.

However, TUV leader Jim Allister, a criminal QC, expressed concern that the police have only six months in which to bring charges for a summary offence and needed to act urgently. He said: “There is a duty on the PSNI to demonstrate that no one is above the law and I therefore believe that they need to act with a speed which has been so far lacking in relation to this matter.”

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: “It’s a total disgrace. To be honest, I think Michelle O’Neill and the Sinn Féin leadership’s credibility on the issue of asking the public to accept further restrictions is totally shot and that has been the case for many months.”

DUP MLA Joanne Bunting said the police had shown “remarkable patience” with those involved and added: “Mr Webster who is overseeing the investigation should at least give a commitment that it will be completed before we pass the six-month date where prosecutions must be brought.”

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