TUV: Republicans' 'highly conditional' support for policing damaging the PSNI

In an interview published on the Belfast Media website on Thursday, Mr Kelly also rejected calls for a cut in the number of politicians on the Policing Board – despite a High Court finding that a young constable was unlawfully suspended from duty by the PSNI because of “a threat (whether real or perceived) that, if it did not do so, republican support for policing would be withdrawn”.

Sinn Fein has denied that Mr Kelly threatened to withdraw support for policing when he spoke to the then chief constable Simon Byrne about the PSNI’s handling of a Troubles atrocity commemoration in February 2021.

In the article, Mr Kelly said: "It is our job as [Policing Board] members to know what is happening on the ground. It can be difficult at times but any idea of removing politicians from the board is not the way to go about this."

Mr Kelly added: "The decision to remove 50-50 recruitment was a political decision and it was wrong. There are also issues with retention. There has been a trend of young Catholic officers not staying in the job.

"I know myself there is sectarianism within the force".

Responding to Mr Kelly’s comments, Cllr Ratcliffe said: “It is important not to lose sight of the fact that at the heart of the current crisis which has engulfed the PSNI is the fact that the former chief constable and others believed that republican support for law and order is highly conditional and that in order to keep them onboard they needed to be pandered to".

He said: “Kelly claims without evidence that there is sectarianism within the PSNI and then, in the next breath, demands the reintroduction of sectarian legislation to discriminate against Protestant applicants to work in the police”.

Cllr Ratcliffe added: “Such doublespeak needs to be called out at every opportunity”.