Union chief’s fears over ‘toxic’ policing

were in place, prompting claims Sinn Fein had flouted rules it was involved in creating.

The Public Prosecution Service is to review its decision, while Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary is also being asked to examine police actions.

Mr Lindsay said: “I am not surprised at the politicisation of policing, I think that is one of the most disappointing things 23 years on from the Good Friday Agreement that policing has never been more politicised, it has never been more toxic in our society.”

QUESTIONS UUP Speaking on BBC’S Good leader Steve Aiken Morning Ulster programme,

he added: “I think there are a lot of reasons behind that and not all to do entirely with the PSNI or its leadership.”

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken has questioned the independence of the HMIC’S review, likening it to “marking the police service’s own homework”.

His comments came after he became the latest unionist political leader to call on PSNI Chief

Constable Simon Byrne to resign.

POLICING has never been more “politicised” than in the aftermath of the Bobby Storey funeral controversy, the chair of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland has warned.

Mark Lindsay said it was disappointing that 23 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, policing has “never been more toxic in our society”. Unionists have been demanding the resignation of the Chief Constable over how the PSNI handled the republican funeral in West Belfast last June. Prosecutors cited police engagement with funeral organisers as a reason why they ruled out taking action against 24 Sinn Fein politicians who attended the largescale event during the pandemic. A lack of clarity in the Executive’s coronavirus regulations limiting public gatherings was also considered a reason why prosecutions would not succeed. The funeral saw around 2,000 mourners line the streets at a time when strict Covid-19 regulations