PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says allegations of sectarianism against TSG by ex-officer 'Sean' were investigated and no evidence of wrongdoing was found

His comments come after an ex-officer ‘Sean’ said last month that, as one the PSNI’s first Catholic recruits, he had left the force in dismay at the sectarianism that he suffered.

Sean told the Belfast Telegraph: “I had a raft of experiences of sectarianism within the PSNI – more so within the tactical support group, which is a predominantly male group. I didn’t want to be ostracised and cast aside where they’d say ‘here’s the Catholic’.”

But responding to the allegations at the Policing Board on Thursday, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said that the TSG (Tactical Support Group) to which Sean had belonged had given "a very strong and definitive denial that anything incorrect happened".

Mr Boutcher said: "I've been told by numerous Catholic nationalist officers and staff that this officer's reported experience is most certainly not their experience, and I know his colleagues are devastated by and deny the claims.

"But it is important I'm very clear on police behaviour, any sectarian behaviour, any bigotry in any form, is completely unacceptable and we will not tolerate it."

UUP member Alan Chambers asked Mr Boutcher if he had read "the unequivocal rejection of these allegations by 39 retired members of that TSG" that was subsequently carried in the media and if he could confirm that the current members of that TSG are being proactively supported?

Mr Boutcher replied: "The retired TSG officers have written to me, setting out the fact that they absolutely, unequivocally deny that any of those behaviour occurred. I'm told that there was an investigation into the allegations, and there was no evidence of wrongdoing discovered. It's my understanding that, clearly, Sean was not happy with that, but then [he] didn't engage, or did not wish to engage with management or our professional standards [unit].

"And also, there was an offer to appoint an independent chief inspector to examine the circumstances of his allegations. These are really difficult issues. I've been accused of stuff I've not done,” Mr Boutcher continued. “I'm not saying anything about this particular case publicly. It creates, obviously, concern when we're trying to recruit people from the nationalist community about - ‘Are these behaviour real or not?’"

Since allegations became public, there have been calls for "a Casey-style review" of sectarianism, he said.

Baroness Casey led a review into the culture and standards of the Metropolitan police in 2023 which found widespread "discrimination" within the service.

But after 19 months in post, he has been around the organisation and had discussions with board members "and I've not seen anything that causes me any significant concern about those types of behaviours", he said.

Mr Boutcher phoned the inspector over the TSG this week to ask him to pass on his congratulations on "some brilliant operational work that led to an outstanding arrest".

He asked if they were okay and he was assured they were. Several super superintendents have checked on their welfare, he added.

There was an inclusivity inspection for all TSGs in 2024 "and no issues of sectarianism were noted," he added.

The Chief Constable is going to "reach out" to Sean, he said, "but there is clearly a very strong and definitive denial that anything incorrect happened, and we've received nothing with regards to any further allegations to us or any legal action as well."

He is "staying neutral" on the allegations, but they were investigated "and there was no finding of any wrongdoing," he added.