Police chief ‘must quit after Sinn Fein leaders marched at funeral’
NORTHERN IRELAND’S First Minister has called for the region’s police chief to quit after prosecutors ruled out action against Sinn Fein leaders who attended a huge republican funeral during the pandemic.
Arlene Foster branded PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne’s position “untenable” after the Public Prosecution Service cited police engagement with the organisers of Bobby Storey’s funeral among reasons why any prosecution would likely fail.
Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill was among senior party figures who learned on Tuesday that they would not face action for attending the event in west Belfast on June 30.
She reiterated her apology for any damage that had been caused to public health messaging and insisted she was determined to rebuild public trust.
Mr Byrne has vowed not to quit, rejecting claims police facilitated rule breaking or turned a blind eye to the scenes involving more than a thousand mourners lining the streets at a time when strict limitations on funerals were in place.
The funeral of former IRA leader Mr Storey has been one of the most controversial events of the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland, with Sinn Fein accused of undermining rules it was involved in creating at Stormont.
Ms O’Neill, party president Mary Lou McDonald, former president Gerry Adams, Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy, TD Pearse Doherty, Policing Board members Gerry Kelly and Linda Dillon, and MLA Martina Anderson were among senior republicans who attended.
Mrs Foster also criticised the Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron for citing the repeatedly changing and inconsistent nature of Stormont’s Covid-19 health regulations as another reason why there was not the prospect of successful prosecutions.
The DUP leader said families who had experienced bereavements in the same week and who limited attendance at the funerals of their loved ones did not have an issue understanding the rules.
Mr Byrne said he stood by the actions of his service.