Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COME ON ARLENE..
First Minister refuses to meet top cop Unionists stand by call for Byrne to go
THE First Minister has defended her call for the PSNI chief to resign after a decision not to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians over attending a large funeral last year despite Covid restrictions. Arlene Foster also deflected criticism for not meeting Chief Constable Simon Byrne when she met representatives of loyalist paramilitaries just weeks ago. The PSNI recommended prosecutions against Deputy First Minister Michelle O’neill and 23 others for alleged breaches of the regulations last year at the funeral of republican Bobby Storey, but the PPS announced last week it will not pursue cases.
The PPS pointed to police engagement with the funeral planners as one reason why any prosecution was likely to fail, as well as the repeatedly changing and
inconsistent nature of Stormont’s Covid regulations. UK policing watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary is to conduct a review of the PSNI’S handling of the policing of the funeral.
Mrs Foster accused police commanders of “facilitating” the funeral and claimed the PPS report was “devastating”.
Justice Minister Naomi Long told RTE it is “preposterous” Mrs Foster “refuses” to meet Mr Byrne just weeks after she met the Loyalist Communities Council.
But the First Minister dismissed the criticism as comparing two different things and insisted the loyalist community must be heard.
The decision not to prosecute sparked widespread anger across the political divide, but it caused particular disquiet among loyalists who have complained of “two-tier policing” and have taken to the streets to protest.
However, violent scenes have also been blamed on Brexit and a local response in the South East Antrim area by what police term “criminal elements” against recent drug raids.
Concern has been expressed that recent scenes of disorder which have
seen 41 police officers injured will continue with further protests planned.
Mrs Foster told Good Morning Ulster on the BBC: “Police have my full support... there is no difficulty in supporting police, we support the rule of law.
“It’s actually because we support the rule of law that we are so perplexed by the decision of the PPS not to prosecute those who very clearly broke the law at the Bobby Storey funeral.”
Mrs Foster believes the leadership of the PSNI has “compromised itself to a point where it needs to change”.
She added: “As the leader of unionism it is my duty to call out failure when failure is very obvious.” The First
Minister said: “I’m not speaking to the Chief Constable because first of all he hasn’t asked to speak to me.
“I haven’t asked to speak to him and the reason for that is if I meet the Chief Constable I will simply repeat what I said to him last Tuesday after the devastating report from the PPS for him, when I said he had lost the confidence of the unionist community and he should resign.”
Mrs Foster also pledged to continue listening to loyalists. She added: “There is a huge need to engage with loyalist and unionist communities and I will not be stepping away from that as the leader of unionism.”
All the main unionist parties have demanded Mr Byrne’s resignation.
But Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken said Mrs Foster declining to meet with the Chief Constable “is a mistake”.
Mr Byrne briefed the Policing Board in a private session about the violence over the Easter period.
Its chair Doug Garrett afterwards revealed members were unanimous in their condemnation of the disorder.
The Assembly is to be recalled from recess today to discuss recent violence.
Renegade individuals, possibly brought on by alcohol MINUTES OF MEETING AT STORMONT