Murphy: ex-paramilitaries 'can join police board'
Former paramilitary prisoners will be allowed to serve on local policing boards in Northern Ireland if republicans and loyalist terror groups complete the transition from violence, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said today.
As the British government released details of additional police reform legislation in Northern Ireland, it emerged former IRA and loyalists prisoners could be allowed to serve on district policing partnerships if the paramilitary groups ceased their violence and other activities for good.
As nationalist and unionists were consulted on the new legislation, Mr Murphy insisted: “I think most people understand what is meant by the transition, they understand whether that transition is taking place, whether we see a complete rejection of violence in the political sense and indeed in other senses too, so that the connection between political parties and violence is gone forever.”
The legislation placed in the British House of Commons today enacts promises given to the moderate nationalist SDLP during last year’s Weston Park peace process negotiations in return for their support for new policing arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The SDLP last year became the first nationalist party in Northern Ireland to urge its supporters to join the police and to participate in policing structures.
However, Sinn Fein refused to endorse the additional reforms at Weston Park which are contained in today’s legislation on the basis that they still did not go far enough to earn the support of republicans.
The British government has set out two papers addressing SDLP and Sinn Fein concerns about policing.
SDLP sources were content that most of their concerns had been addressed in the two documents placed in the House of Commons today but insisted that they were still looking for clarity on two key issues relating to the powers of the police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland and the 19 member policing board.
Clauses dealing with the eligibility of ex-prisoners to serve on the local policing boards were set out in a separate text by the Government on condition that republicans and loyalists would complete the transition from violence.
Mr Murphy explained: “We are not yet persuaded that the time is right to introduce changes in these areas.
“In particular, the removal of the disqualification of ex prisoners serving on the DPPs could, in our view, happen only in the context of acts of completion, such as those envisaged by the Prime Minster in his speech in Belfast last month.
“However I believe it would be helpful to set out how we would intend to deal with these two issues, should we, at some point in the future, conclude that the time is right to legislate on them.”
