Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson returns to work; meanwhile, prosecutors release statement over 2023 incident

Northern Ireland’s Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson has returned to work after an absence because of illness.

In a statement, Mrs Anderson said she is looking forward to recommencing her role.

Her office deals with complaints about the conduct of police in the region.

In 2023 it emerged that West Midlands Police were examining events relating to an incident at a property linked to Mrs Anderson in Holywood, Co Down.

Police Service of Northern Ireland officers went to the property at about 6.30pm on Saturday September 23 2023, after a report of a domestic incident.

A man was arrested as part of the inquiry and later released pending a report to prosecutors.

A file was subsequently sent to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and a caution issued to the man who had been arrested.

West Midlands Police were then tasked with investigating further aspects of the incident.

In June 2024, the Northern Ireland Assembly was told that Mrs Anderson had taken a leave of absence due to illness.

In a statement on Monday, Mrs Anderson said: “I am pleased to be back at work and am looking forward to recommencing my role.

“I would like to thank my senior staff who led the work of the office during my illness and continued to demonstrate the value of our investigations in building public confidence in independent investigation of police complaints and in our work to improve policing.”

In relation into the incident in September 2023, a PSNI spokesman said: “There is an ongoing police investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”

A PPS spokesman said: “The PPS carefully considered all the available evidence on a police investigation file reporting one individual arrested in respect of an alleged domestic incident in Holywood, Co Down, in September 2023.

“Having applied the test for prosecution, it was determined that the evidential test was met for the offence of common assault, and that, having regard to all the circumstances, the matter could properly be dealt with by way of a caution.

“The caution was accepted by the reported individual in September 2024 and administered by police.

“All parties were informed at the time.

“All PPS decision-making was carried out independently, impartially and in line with the PPS code for prosecutors.”

A caution is a formal reprimand by police. While not a conviction, it is recorded on a person’s criminal record for a period of six years for an adult.