SDLP vows to oppose watering down of police reforms
The SDLP is vowing to campaign against any attempt by the British government to abandon the rule that requires half of all PSNI recruits to be Catholic.
The 50-50 Catholic-Protestant recruitment quota was introduced as part of the Patten reforms to boost the number of Catholics in the North's police force
However, over the weekend, Denis Bradley, the vice-chairman of the Policing Board, told the SDLP annual conference that the rule was wrong from a human rights points of view and should be removed as soon as possible.
Unionists are vehemently opposed to the 50-50 quota, believing it discriminates against Protestants, who still account for the vast majority of applications to the PSNI.
The SDLP, however, has said it will fight to ensure the quota remains for at least 10 years as envisaged by the Patten Report on policing reforms.
