SDLP accept policing plan

With the Tuesday midday deadline looming Northern Ireland’s political parties are rapidly running out of time to say whether they will accept or reject the revised implementation plan for reform of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The document, which covers all 175 Patten proposals, has already been rejected by Sinn Féin.

The SDLP however, in a remarkable change of policy in the party’s history, announced on Monday their support the policing implementation plan. The party will now be signing up to the new policing board which will oversee the new service.

This decision comes in the wake of public support clearly voiced for the policing plans from the Catholic Church and the Irish Government.

Speaking on Monday SDLP leader John Hume said: “Last week the British Government published its implementation plan following Patten. We have scrutinised its contents rigorously, testing the plan against the detail of Patten and the requirement of a new beginning to policing.

“We now welcome that implementation plan and we will be playing our necessary role as public representatives in delivering all aspects of the plan as part of the unfolding implementation of the two governments’ package aimed at implementing the Good Friday Agreement.”

Deputy leader Séamus Mallon said the Good Friday Agreement would never be implemented in its entirety unless people from both sides of the community actually joined the new police service and gave it their full participation and support.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the anti-Agreement Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have yet to announce their decision.

If the UUP and DUP sign up to the new policing board and Sinn Féin do not, it means that republicans will not represented on neither the north-south bodies nor the policing board. Instead one UUP member and one DUP member would then occupy their seats, under the d’hondt system. (AMcE)