Kilcloney unhappy with Orde appointment
A senior Ulster Unionist today expressed grave reservations about the appointment of Hugh Orde as Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable.
Lord Kilcloney, a member of the province’s Police Board, claimed the decision to give the 43-year-old Northern Ireland’s top policing job despite unionist opposition was ‘‘controversial’’ and could be unpopular.
‘‘It is a controversial decision and indeed, may be somewhat political’’ the UUP peer observed.
‘‘I am concerned that it may not be well received across Northern Ireland.
‘‘It seems to me that independent members of the board have sided with the SDLP in this appointment.’’
Lord Kilcloney expressed concern on BBC Radio Ulster after Deputy Assistant Commissioner Orde fought off intense competition from two senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, Alan McQuillan and Chris Albiston, to land the job.
He will now face a number of challenges in undoubtedly the UK’s toughest policing job - ensuring the Omagh bomb investigation puts previous controversy behind it, establishing who was behind the Castlereagh police station break-in, dealing with continuing republican and loyalist paramilitary activity and sectarian street violence, continuing to steer the PSNI into more normal policing.
The new PSNI chief also has a political high wire act to tread.
Sinn Fein is resisting pressure to support the province’s new policing arrangements and remains sceptical about the PSNI.
Unionists are unhappy with his appointment. Nationalists will want him to come down hard on Special Branch.
Mr Orde, who has been running an inquiry into allegations that security forces colluded with loyalist paramilitaries to murder Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane, must now win over those who tried to thwart his appointment.
Ironically, he is now in the position of scrutinising a report whose recommendations he drew up.
With the Stevens report expected to attack Special Branch’s ‘‘force within a force’’ status, Ulster Unionist MLA Fred Cobain and Democratic Unionist Sammy Wilson are understood to have fought hard against his selection.
Both men were conspicuously absent when the announcement was officially made.
Mr Cobain claimed the board should have resisted pressure to give the job to any of the three interviewees after members were advised they had failed to meet the standards.
‘‘This could be a recipe for disaster,’’ the North Belfast MLA warned.
Sources in the nationalist SDLP were ‘‘delighted’’ at the appointment of Mr Orde.
However Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly was much more sceptical, saying his party had no great expectations of the new Chief Constable.
In a statement the SDLP Police Board members, Alex Attwood, Eddie McGrady and Joe Byrne said: ‘‘There are good indications that Hugh Orde is strong on change, strong on getting policing right and strong on working with people in communities uncertain and unhappy with the police.
‘‘He has assumed an enormous responsibility and together with his officers and the Policing Board can ensure a police service which earns the allegiance of all.’’
However Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly said he did not believe the appointment would ‘‘make much of a difference.
‘‘It doesn’t take away from the central issue, which is that the legislative amendments to the Police Act are still not enough to command the support of nationalists and republicans.
‘‘The gulf is still wide. It falls short of the model of policing expected after the Good Friday Agreement.
‘‘You still have an awful lot of power in the Chief Constable’s hands and not enough accountability and I think the change of face is not going to make any difference to that.’’
