Sinn Féin denies threat to withdraw policing support

Ms O'Neill said she made clear in February 2021 that she regarded the arrest as appalling

Sinn Féin's vice president has denied threatening to withdraw her party's support for policing after an arrest at a Troubles commemoration.

A court last month ruled two junior officers were unlawfully disciplined following the arrest in February 2021.

The judge said officers had been disciplined to allay any threat of Sinn Féin abandoning its support for policing in Northern Ireland.

Stormont's largest party denies making any such threat.

Simon Byrne resigned as chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in the days following the ruling, after facing calls from unionist parties to step down.

The Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI and holds its leadership to account, is to launch a recruitment process for his successor later this month.

Community confidence damaged

Speaking at the Northern Ireland Investment Summit on Wednesday, Ms O'Neill said she made clear at the time that she regarded the arrest as "appalling".

"This was somebody who was the victim of a horrible atrocity many years ago and the way he was treated was appalling," she said.

Five people were killed and several others injured in the 1992 gun attack by loyalist paramilitaries

"I made that very clear publicly at the time and privately to the chief constable in terms of the damage that that type of activity did to community confidence.

"But never at any time did I threaten to withdraw Sinn Féin's support for policing - that's unequivocal in terms of our support for the rule of law."

Ms O'Neill also said it was time to "draw a line and move on".

Speaking to BBC's The View at the conference, she said: "Let's get back to actually making sure that we have fair and effective policing that serves all of our community.

"That's what the public would want us to achieve."

'Sorry episode'

In response to Ms O'Neill, Democratic Unionist Party Policing Board member Trevor Clarke said Sinn Féin had to explain why senior officers "believed Michelle O'Neill's representations amounted to an ultimatum in respect of ongoing support for policing".

"We will not be stopping until the full detail of this sorry episode is laid out clearly for the public to see who said what and when," he continued.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Policing Board will take place on Wednesday evening to discuss legal advice and HR issues relating to the leadership crisis, BBC News NI understands.

The board is also expected to give rescheduled evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster next Tuesday in relation to the recent data breach and other controversies.

The board withdrew from a session last week following Simon Byrne's resignation.

On Wednesday, the PSNI confirmed Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, who was placed in temporary command, had not returned to work after a medical procedure.

Day-to-day leadership is in the hands of the PSNI senior executive team in his absence, a police spokesperson said.

How did the arrest happen?

The arrest happened on the Ormeau Road where a service was being held marking the anniversary of the February 1992 Sean Graham bookmakers attack.

Uniformed officers arrested a man at the memorial on Belfast's Ormeau Road in February 2021

Five people were murdered and nine others injured by loyalist paramilitaries in the attack.

The wreath-laying ceremony in 2021 took place amid restrictions on public gatherings at the time due to Covid-19 regulations.

During that event, attended by up to 30 people, one man who had been shot and injured in the attack was detained on suspicion of disorderly behaviour and put in handcuffs.

He was later released without charge.

The chief constable later apologised for the incident and confirmed the disciplinary steps taken against the two recently recruited officers.