Bobby Storey funeral: Simon Byrne left 'isolated' after PPS decision

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said he felt pressure amid calls for him to resign after the Bobby Storey funeral decision

NI's police chief has said he felt in an "isolated and lonely place" in the wake of the decision not to prosecute anyone who attended the Bobby Storey funeral.

Simon Byrne faced calls to resign after prosecutors opted not to charge anyone over the funeral in June 2020.

It attracted 2,000 mourners at a time when Covid restrictions were in place.

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary into how police handled the funeral found no bias.

Mr Storey, 64, was a senior republican figure and had formerly been the head of intelligence for the IRA in the 1990s.

The attendance of many senior Sinn Féin politicians at his funeral in west Belfast last year - including Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill - at a time when strict limits on gatherings were in place, caused a political furore.

The decision by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in March not to prosecute anyone in relation to the funeral led to unionist politicians calling for the resignation of Mr Byrne, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The (PPS) is carrying out a review of its decision not to prosecute anyone.

A separate review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), launched after the PPS decision, found there were "grounds for criticising the PSNI approach" but they were not "especially serious failings".

Mary Lou McDonald, Gerry Adams and Michelle O'Neill were among the senior Sinn Féin members at the funeral

"They do not approach the level at which censure of individual officers, or resignations, would be justified."

Mr Byrne welcomed the report and said the police would learn lessons but that he hoped "we can move on now".

On Tuesday, Mr Byrne said he felt pressure in the wake of the PPS decision and calls for his resignation.

"It felt like quite an isolated and lonely place," he told the Nolan Show.

"I'm quite happy to accept that in a large complex organisation, inevitably, from time to time things won't go as well as we hoped, but we have to see where we've made decisions in good faith and integrity.

"I look forward to rebuilding relationships with people where we can and policing the summer events which we know are coming in a fair and even-handed way."

• Why was Bobby Storey's funeral so controversial?

• Policing in NI 'never more politicised or toxic'

• How Bobby Storey funeral investigation unfolded

Mr Byrne said he did not consider stepping down.

The HMIC report was debated in the NI Assembly on Tuesday, including by members of the NI Policing Board.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Mervyn Storey said there is "still some way to go in bringing this matter to a conclusion".

He said Sinn Féin party members, by attending the funeral, showed "no respect, no regard and no restraint".

'Move on'

Sinn Féin's policing spokesman Gerry Kelly, who attended the funeral, said it was his appeal that "we do move on".

SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said the blame lies within the republican movement, adding political leaders now have to help rebuild confidence.

The Ulster Unionist Party's (UUP) Mike Nesbitt said Mr Byrne now needs support as he attempts to rebuild confidence.

"If I had lost a relative or a loved one, I'd be appalled if we were still debating that loss. But it didn't have to be like this," he said.

Mr Nesbitt has also written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Herron, asking him to appear before Stormont's Justice Committee over a letter written to Mr Byrne complaining about a "confidentiality" breach over the funeral case.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said the HIMC report was a "whitewash".

He said the streets of west Belfast were "deliberately, consciously surrendered" on the day of the funeral.