Sean Graham bookmakers: Jon Boutcher will not appeal arrest ruling

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

The Police Service of Northern Ireland will not appeal a ruling that two officers were unlawfully disciplined after a Troubles' commemoration event.

The event marked the anniversary of the 1992 Sean Graham bookmakers attack, in which five people were killed.

The then chief constable Simon Byrne said he was considering an appeal to the ruling, but subsequently resigned.

On Friday, the interim police chief said he accepted the judgment and would be apologising to the officers.

"I have communicated my position to the chair of the Police Federation who will inform both officers," said interim Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

"I acknowledge that our judgment was wrong and unlawful and I have offered to meet both officers to apologise."

He said he realised the judgment has had a "significant impact both within and outside the organisation".

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

The disciplinary action happened after a service marking the anniversary of the Sean Graham bookmakers attack by loyalist paramilitaries, which was held on the Ormeau Road in Belfast in February 2021.

About 30 people attended that event, amid restrictions on public gatherings due to Covid-19 regulations.

One man who had been shot and injured in the 1992 attack was detained on suspicion of disorderly behaviour and put in handcuffs. He was later released without charge.

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Mr Byrne, the chief constable at the time, apologised for the incident and confirmed the disciplinary steps taken against the two recently-recruited officers.

Although the suspension and re-positioning decisions were lifted later that year following a review, both constables remained aggrieved at their treatment.

Backed by the Police Federation, the pair applied for a judicial review into the lawfulness of the disciplinary moves.

In his ruling in August, the judge said the officers had been disciplined to allay any threat of Sinn Féin abandoning its support for policing in Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin denied that.

He quashed decisions to suspend one probationary constable and re-position his colleague.

Then chief constable Simon Byrne resigned in September

The ruling prompted the Police Federation and unionist political parties to criticise the leadership of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

A few weeks later, Mr Byrne resigned following that incident and a series of other controversies.

'A great relief'

In a statement, the Police Federation said it was a "positive and welcome" development that there will no longer be an appeal.

Its chair, Liam Kelly, said: "I have personally spoken to both officers and this decision has come as a great relief both to them and indeed their colleagues in the wider service.

"They were found to have been scapegoated for real or perceived political reasons and were treated disgracefully. Thankfully, Mr Boutcher has taken this very significant step to right the wrong."