Image source, PA Media

We're ending our live coverage of Jon Boutcher's first news conference as PSNI chief constable.

But here are the key points he discussed:

• He hopes the Stormont executive returns and provides more funding for the PSNI
• The 58-year-old says the PSNI will be ready "at the front of the queue" for extra cash
• He pays tribute to his new colleagues in the force, describing them as "outstanding"
• "Recent challenges" have distracted attention away from the PSNI's work, he says
• "It's my job to get the focus back on the delivery of that work," he adds

Read more: New PSNI chief hopes for money with Stormont return

That's all from us - bye for now.

Julian O'Neill
BBC News NI crime and justice correspondent

Jon Boutcher will seek to move the PSNI on quickly from what has been a damaging three months for policing.

The job of rebuilding morale internally is already under way.

Fixing the harm done to public confidence is the second part of the challenge.

The PSNI's financial situation probably overshadows all else.

It is £50m short of what it needs to balance the books for 2023-24 and mid-term the prognosis looks grim.

Unless money is found, the force will continue to shrink in size.

The PSNI has a staff of more than 9,000, about 6,700 of them officers, and an annual budget of £800m.

In June the then Chief Constable Simon Byrne said that about 550 officers were off sick every day.

The PSNI is also facing huge pressure on its budget.

In May Byrne said the service was facing a funding shortfall of £141m and the budget had the potential to become impossible to manage.

Former senior PSNI officer Jon Burrows says "money and morale" are the two biggest issues facing Jon Boutcher.

"Morale I think is the biggest issue - first and last, every organisation is about its people and the men and women of the PSNI need to feel supported," he says.

"Clearly there is a need for more money, police officer numbers are now 900 less than what they should be," says Burrows.

"Recruitment is falling - we are going to go below 6,000 [officers] if that is not addressed."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says that as interim chief constable of the PSNI, Jon Boutcher "has already brought much needed stability to an organisation that has been wracked with controversy in recent months".

"That he has now been appointed on a permanent basis will allow him to continue his initial good work to put things right within the PSNI," says the Foyle MP.

Image source, Getty Images

However he adds that "the large amount of work ahead to rebuild confidence in the organisation" should not be underestimated.

He says the chief constable should reinstate the 50-50 recruitment policy to deal with issues around representation of the nationalist community within the force.

The policy ran for 10 years until 2011 and meant one Catholic was recruited for every one person from a Protestant or other background.

Jon Boutcher spent the past five years overseeing an independent investigation into the activities of the Army's top spy within the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

His Operation Kenova report into the agent, who was known as Stakeknife, is due to be published in the coming months.

Image source, PA Media

He'd previously applied to lead the Metropolitan Police after the resignation of Cressida Dick last year but he was unsuccessful in that process.

He was also unsuccessful in his bid to become PSNI chief constable in 2019, when the job eventually went to Simon Byrne.

Ulster Unionist politician Mike Nesbitt believes the appointment of Jon Boutcher represents "hope".

He says there had been two "great candidates" for the position - Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton was the other who was interviewed.

Image source, PA Media

"I wish Jon well. I think he got off to a very good start as the interim chief constable, he was very impressive the other day when he came to the Policing Board," says the Strangford MLA.

"He has shown himself to be sure-footed and a deep thinker. I think he is going to be very good."

The 58-year-old is a highly experienced, long-serving police officer whose career spans more than 30 years.

As well as being a former chief constable of Bedfordshire Police, a post he held from 2015 to 2019, he spent 28 years in London's Metropolitan Police, mostly as a detective.

At the Met he served with its Flying Squad, infiltrating organised crime, and then in 2003 he was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Branch.

Image source, pa

In 2005 he was the lead detective in the investigation into the 7 July bombings which killed 52 people on London's transport system.

Two weeks later he led the manhunt for the 21/7 bombers, which resulted in the arrests of those who plotted the failed attack.

The PSNI had been without a chief constable for several weeks after the resignation of Simon Byrne.

He'd served as chief constable from May 2019 until September this year.

Image source, Pacemaker

He quit after a series of controversies, including a court ruling that two junior officers were unlawfully disciplined and a number of data breaches within the force.

Jon Boutcher's contract is for five years but it can be extended thereafter.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says the appointment of Jon Boutcher should be the catalyst for restoring confidence in policing in Northern Ireland.

"There is a need for effective, efficient, and impartial policing in Northern Ireland," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Sir Jeffrey hopes Boutcher will treat "every tradition and community with a fair hand" and avoid "many of the own goals we have seen in recent times".

"This appointment must not be a false dawn," he adds.

"The DUP will be engaging with the new chief constable to hear his plans to restore confidence and improve relations with the unionist community."

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill says Jon Boutcher has a "huge job of work ahead to rebuild trust and confidence in the police with [the] public and PSNI officers".

Image source, PA Media

"Wishing Jon Boutcher well on his appointment as new chief constable," she posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Focus must be on delivering an efficient and effective policing service that works and is representative of everyone in society."

That brings Jon Botcher's news conference to an end.

Since he was appointed last night there's been plenty of reaction from politicians, ex-officers and more - we'll bring you some of that now, as well as a bit of background about the man himself.

Jon Boutcher concludes his press conference by answering a question about rumoured pro-Palestinian protests in Belfast on Remembrance Sunday this weekend.

He says peaceful protest is a "fundamental and basic right".

Remembrance happens once a year and those who want to remember people who sacrificed their lives in conflicts should be allowed to do so, he adds.

"We can do both but one will not be allowed to interfere with the other," he says.

Jon Boutcher was asked about a person who allegedly dressed up as a Hamas gunman at a Halloween parade in Londonderry recently.

"This place knows conflict more than any other place in the world," says the chief constable.

"There's far more that joins us together than separates us. We need to respect each other's views about what's going on in the Middle East.

"Any acts that put that in jeopardy we will deal with."

Jon Boutcher says he's already spoken to his staff about sickness levels "as it concerns me on a number of levels".

In June the then Chief Constable Simon Byrne said 550 officers were absent from duty each day, causing big problems for the force.

"We need to make sure that we're working hard to bring those who are sick back into the organisation," says Boutcher.

He says sickness levels have gone "up and up and up" and fixing that is a priority - getting officers back doing their jobs "would be like a new recruitment campaign".

Jon Boutcher is asked about his work on the Operation Kenova investigation and having to hand it over to Sir Ian Livingston.

The inquiry is examining the activities of the Army's top spy within the IRA during the Troubles.

For several years until his appointment with the PSNI, Boutcher had been leading the multi-million pounds investigation into historical crimes, covering murder and torture, and the role of the state, including MI5.

The agent was known as Stakeknife and is alleged to have been Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci (below).

Image source, Pacemaker

Boutcher says he will not walk away from victims' families who've been involved in Operation Kenova.

"The response from the Kenova families and me getting this job has been huge," he says.

"How badly they have been let down over many years by many organisations should never be forgotten.

"I have no more input into the Kenova report but the stories will be understood by everyone in this room and that's an important story to be told."

Bobby Singleton, the assistant chief constable was also shortlisted for the top job, is an "absolutely superb police officer", according to Jon Boutcher.

The two men were interviewed for the role on Monday.

Image source, PA Media

The new chief says the PSNI is exceedingly lucky to have the talent it does.

"Bobby (above) is very much a part of the future of the PSNI," he says.

Jon Boutcher says there appears to have been a fear-driven culture within the PSNI, causing staff to be afraid of making mistakes.

"If that is right, and I'm not saying it is, we are going to change that," he says.

"Unfortunately it feels like the PSNI is operating at the moment in something of a goldfish bowl."

He wants to reassure rank-and-file staff that he and his senior leadership team have their backs, trust them and that it's "not a parent-child relationship".

Jon Boutcher is questioned about the financial issues facing the PSNI, which he admits are "really challenging".

"There's a £52m gap that we have got to address," he says.

"I will be lobbying at every single level to make sure this organisation gets the funding that it deserves."

He says that without the adequate finances the PSNI will struggle to do its job: "We need to know we can keep people safe."

Jon Boutcher says PSNI officers and staff "just want to get on with doing the job".

"And that's really what I want to get on with," he adds.