Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WALKING ON EGGSHELLS
» Stormont Easter meltdown looming » Policing Board showdown amid resignation calls
THE Assembly’s Easter holiday has been stalled after it emerged it is to meet today to discuss the fallout over the Bobby Storey funeral controversy.
And the Policing Board is set for a showdown with Chief Constable Simon Byrne amid unionist calls for him to resign.
They will hold a private meeting in the morning alongside Cumbria Police top cop Mark Webster, who oversaw the funeral investigation.
A scheduled public session of the Policing Board in the afternoon was cancelled as it clashed with the Assembly debate beginning at noon.
It was recalled from its Easter break after it was confirmed 24 Sinn Fein politicians would not be prosecuted over alleged restrictions breaches at the funeral last June.
The Public Prosecution Service said a lack of clarity in the regulations limiting public gatherings, and the prior engagement between organisers and police posed an “insurmountable difficulty”.
It is to review the decision following several requests, including one from an elected representative on behalf of a member of the public. It will be reviewed by an
internal lawyer not involved in the original decision, who will be assisted by the advice of independent senior counsel. The funeral of Mr Storey, a former IRA head of intelligence, was one of the most controversial events of the pandemic in Northern Ireland. Crowds of more than 1,000 people lined the streets at a
time when there were strict rules limiting gatherings.
The attendance of Sinn Fein leaders including Deputy First Minister Michelle O’neill sparked a major political row at Stormont, with the party accused of disregarding rules they set for society.
The recalled Assembly will debate an SDLP motion seeking to censure Sinn Fein elected representatives for attending.
The motion said their actions “breached the Executive’s public health messaging and undermined efforts to prevent transmission of the virus”.
In a statement confirming a review, the PPS said it recognised the sacrifices made by many people in abiding by both the spirit and letter of regulations.
It stressed the lack of clarity in the rules identified in its decision “referred to the specific point in time of this particular funeral”. The PPS said this “should not undermine the value the regulations have had overall in protecting public health or their enforceability at other times”.
It also added questions around why the regulations were amended in short succession before and after the funeral, or the conduct of police in engaging with funeral organisers, “will largely be beyond the scope of any prosecutorial review”.
Earlier, First Minister Arlene
Foster reiterated her demand for the Chief Constable to quit over the episode, and suggested the Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron should also consider his position.
However, Mr Byrne made it clear he would not resign, claiming prior engagement with funeral organisers would be “normal practice” for police.
He argued Stormont’s “confusing and inconsistent” coronavirus laws were to blame for scuppering prosecutions.
Mr Byrne told BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show: “The critical thing to remember when you look at the findings from the Director of Public Prosecutions, he is really clear that actually regardless of what we did or didn’t do, which we still stand behind, was the fact that on the day the law was confusing and inconsistent, and that inhibited his ability to bring a prosecution.”
Assistant Chief Const Alan Todd defended the PSNI’S approach and noted restrictions have changed more than 23 times.