Receive free Northern Ireland updates
we will send you myFT Daily Digest Email summary of the latest information Northern Ireland Every morning there is news.
Northern Ireland’s police chief has rejected calls to resign after a scandal engulfed his leadership, vowing to stay on after seven hours of questioning by the Police Oversight Board.
Sergeant Simon Byrne has come under fire since a data breach in August published the identities of all serving officers and staff of the Northern Ireland Police Service on a public internet site.
But a judicial review ruling by the High Court this week has put his career in jeopardy. The court found that the National Police had unlawfully disciplined two officers in 2021 because of a “real or perceived” threat that nationalist parties would remove support from the area’s police if they did not, but Sinn Féin deny it.
On Thursday night, Byrne refused to be questioned by the Northern Ireland Police Commission, which has 19 members including political party representatives.
PSNI can still appeal Judge Schofield’s ruling, he said.
“After consideration, the issue of appeal has been raised,” Byrne said, adding: “It would not be appropriate at this stage to make further public comment on the matter.”
Liam Kelly, president of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, which represents rank-and-file police officers, condemned any appeal, saying he was “disgusted, disappointed and extremely angry” at Byrne’s change of attitude. “I accept the court’s findings,” Byrne said in a statement following this week’s judicial review ruling.
Kelly said the surprise appeal after the high court ruled that the National Police Service’s decision to suspend one officer and reassign another to a different role was unlawful had angered officers and members, “expressing doubt and anger.”
The disciplinary action follows the arrest of a man in 2021 at an event commemorating the victims of a 1992 Loyalist paramilitary attack on a betting office in Belfast that killed five Catholics. The arrested man was injured in the attack.
Asked as he was leaving a police council meeting whether he would now consider his position, Byrne said: “I’m not going to resign.”
Byrne survived an administrative error that leaked the personal details of nearly 10,000 police officers and staff on a public internet site in early August. Many police officers feared their safety would be compromised.
The police chief, who returned from holiday to deal with the leaks, acknowledged the information had fallen into the hands of a Republican group opposed to the peace process in Northern Ireland and has a history of attacking police, but insisted he would not do so. don’t flinch.
However, new controversies have added to his pressure. The 2021 arrests came amidst Covid-19 gathering restrictions in place, with unionist politicians angered by claims that senior police officers bowed to political pressure.
Sinn Féin has denied threatening or suggesting it would withdraw its support for the police handling of the incident.
Northern Ireland has endured a three-decade conflict involving republican paramilitary forces fighting for Irish unity, loyalist paramilitary forces seeking to keep the region in the UK, and British security forces.
Since the 1998 peace deal, political decisions have required the support of unionist and nationalist politicians representing two communities in the still deeply divided region.
The Democratic Unionist Party, the region’s largest pro-British political group, the more moderate Ulster Unionist Party and the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice have all called for Byrne to resign. UUP is calling the 2021 incident a “police crash”.
The Police Federation has called a special meeting of its executive central committee next Wednesday and said a vote of confidence in Byrne’s leadership was likely.
Byrne will face questions from the Westminster Northern Ireland Commission next Tuesday over the data breach.
Svlook
