'The watchdog that would not bark': Policing Board once again under fire over Sean sectarian saga

Meanwhile there is also criticism of the apparent confirmation that an anonymous survey of police officers – seeking evidence of sectarianism, sexism, racism, and homophobia within the force – is set to go ahead despite Sean's anonymous accusations of sectarianism having been revealed as bogus.

Thursday was the first meeting of the Policing Board since Sean's claims fell apart publicly.

Sean is an ex-officer of the PSNI's Tactical Support Group (TSG), who alleged a suite of anti-Catholic behaviour within the unit in a Belfast Telegraph interview in March.

He had not raised the matter once while he was employed by the PSNI, and his former colleagues hotly denied that any such things had taken place.

Then last month Sean confessed in the pages of the News Letter that the whole thing was made up.

There had already been criticism of the lack of questioning about the affair during the last Policing Board meeting in early May, when UUP man Alan Chambers had been the only member to ask about it.

TUV leader Jim Allister MP accused the board then of "inaction and a disturbing lack of curiosity" amounting to "a dereliction of duty".

Meanwhile Jon Burrows, the former PSNI head of discipline who has campaigned to clear the TSG's name from the outset, said after the May meeting that "sadly the Policing Board has been shown again to be unfit for purpose".

Now both have renewed their criticism after the June meeting on Thursday, when zero questions about the issue were asked by the four unionist members of the board (nor by anybody else).

Instead, the deputy chief constable Bobby Singleton delivered a prepared statement, in which he said: "The claims caused create distress too to many in the organisation, but in particular, to those who were closest to the claims and the officer himself.

"And since the last board meeting Sean has of course now unequivocally retracted his allegations. He's acknowledged that they were unfounded and he's expressed deep regret for the distress that's been caused.

"I'm relieved that Sean has done this and I think, to be honest, it's the best possible outcome for everybody including Sean himself.

"I want to place on record my own as well as the chief constable's appreciation for the professionalism, the integrity and the dignity that was displayed by Sean's serving and his retired colleagues from the 012, or the black TSG as they're known, throughout this entire incident."

He also went on to add that "we are actively developing a deep dive survey that will allow us to better evidence culture within the organisation" – a reference to the anonymous staff survey on sectarianism, racism, etc, which the PSNI chief constable previously announced while discussing the Sean affair.

Speaking about the total absence of questions arising from the board, TUV MLA Timothy Gaston called it another "a dereliction of duty".

"Not one member saw fit to raise the deeply troubling case involving 'Sean,' the former officer whose serious and now discredited allegations of sectarianism have cast a long shadow over the PSNI’s Tactical Support Group.

"Despite weeks of public concern, detailed rebuttals from former senior officers, and credible questions raised about the PSNI leadership’s hasty endorsement of Sean’s claims, the board remained silent.

"How can any oversight body claim to take its responsibilities seriously when it refuses to even ask the most obvious questions? Where is the scrutiny? Where is the accountability?

"The fact that the Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable have made public pronouncements on Sean’s credibility – despite no formal complaint ever having been made – demands urgent examination.

"The leadership’s response has demoralised many within the service and raised serious concerns about political influence within policing. Yet the Policing Board – the very body tasked with oversight – chose to say nothing."This failure speaks volumes. It is no wonder public confidence is declining when even the watchdog refuses to bark."

Meanwhile Jon Burrows said: "One of the most damaging incidents to police morale and public trust in the PSNI’s history merited more curiosity and interest than the board has shown since the original allegations were first published 13 weeks ago."

And on the survey, he said: "Given the problems anonymous testimony has posed in this case, exceptional care needs to be taken to ensure no one can abuse any survey to make spurious and vexatious allegations that have no names, dates and evidence."

There are three DUP members of the board, and one UUP member.

When criticism of the board's performance was put to the DUP, it responded: "Issues linked to the ‘Sean’ case have been raised by DUP representatives with the PSNI in recent days.

"At today’s board meeting the DUP raised issues relating to the Supreme Court ruling [on transgenderism] and the incident linked to the Police Ombudsman [the CEX Lisburn case].

"These are also issues of significant importance for policing and the wider public. We’ll continue to focus on all areas that matter.”

Asked why he had not raised the Sean issue at Thursday's meeting, UUP MLA Alan Chambers said it was because "that affair is basically put to bed now".

He said he had wanted to ask about the upcoming survey of staff but didn't, because he wanted to pose the question directly to the chief constable, not his deputy.

Mr Chambers said he will however be writing to the chief constable asking for more details about the survey.

He said he was not "anti-the survey" but had concerns that its anonymous nature could make it a "mischief-maker's charter".

"I'd have concerns that you're inviting trouble. In other words what you might be doing is bringing forward another Sean," he said.

The Policing Board itself said nothing when criticism was put to it.