“the dissidents themselves are actually attacking the direct local accountability institutions”

| Readers 3

BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport has been properly sceptical before of the suggestion that “having a local Justice Minister might dampen down any dissident violence”. And, following the weekend car bomb attack on the Policing Board headquarters, on today’s Stormont Live he put one of his “stupid” questions to Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly.

“Would it really make that much of a difference? Because the dissidents have now directly targeted the Policing Board – which is a symbol of local politicians keeping the police accountable. And, really, if we were to have, say, an Alliance Justice Minister that would just be more of the same. So the dissidents themselves are actually attacking the direct local accountability institutions we already have.”

Discover more from Slugger O'Toole

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Recent posts

Brian Walker

“Saying Nothing ” was a great poetic theme but the time to speak out is now. A lament on a society ” based on lies” by Paul Muldoon

Chambré Public Affairs

Weekly Bulletin 31/10/26

Mick Fealty

Evidence, not inevitability: the Taoiseach’s plan for Ireland’s futures…

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated. 

Give a monthly donation Give a one-off donation