Sectarianism allegations fall apart: 'I am glad we kept going - we got to the truth'
The former head of the PSNI’s discipline branch, Jon Burrows, has been commenting online – and in the News Letter – for several weeks about the case of ‘Sean’, rebutting the anonymous ex-officer’s allegations of sectarianism against the police.
Mr Burrows said he had been “horrified and stupefied” by the accusations when they surfaced.
But he added: “There were immediate red flags in Sean’s account and with the cooperation of dozens of retired PSNI officers I began forensically examining what he alleged.
"I set out a compelling fact-check of Sean’s allegations across two blogs and on social media…
"I am glad I persevered and continued to examine the allegations and promote the message of the honourable former colleagues of Sean, because in the end we got to the truth.
"It has not been easy and I am afraid to say the media in Northern Ireland have not been curious enough about this case, nor given a platform to the men and women who have been through hell the last 10 weeks.
"Only the News Letter has consistently probed the facts of the case, covered its evolution over time and asked awkward questions.
Click here for more reaction: 'Far too many people wanted sectarian claims to be true' says Doug Beattie
"A few days ago Sean reached out to a former colleague and myself. He came to us for help, he said he had made a massive mistake and wanted to tell the truth. I spent hours with him, he is a man who bared his soul to me and he entrusted me with his confession…
"I hope Sean makes a recovery. We extend him grace.”
See Mr Burrows' recent essay for us on the topic: Despite obvious red flags in Sean's claims of sectarianism in the PSNI, our top police officers backed him