Policing – Page 7 – Slugger O'Toole

“when a major political leader tells such an obvious falsehood about a defining part of his life…”

Pete Baker on March 25, 2014, 9:42 pm

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Also for the record, Ed Moloney has responded to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ attack on the Boston College oral history project. From Ed Moloney’s blog I don’t intend to spill a lot of ink responding to Gerry Adams’ recent statement taking yet another swipe at the motives of those who were interviewed and who did the interviewing for the Boston College oral history archive. That is because I have already answered a very similar charge from Mary Lou McDonald. …

Gerry Adams makes himself available to the PSNI for questioning…

Mick Fealty on March 24, 2014, 10:49 pm

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For the record, Gerry Adams released this somewhat uninhibited statement tonight: “I can understand the McConville family’s anger and hurt given what they have been through and given what some anti-peace process former republican activists have been alleging. However, let me repeat. What happened to Jean McConville was a terrible injustice. I was not involved in any part of it. If the PSNI wish to talk to me on this matter I am available to meet them. I have asked …

Ivor Bell charged in connection with Jean McConville abduction and murder

Pete Baker on March 21, 2014, 8:36 pm

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The BBC are reporting that Ivor Bell, who was arrested earlier this week, has been charged in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in December 1972. From the BBC report Ivor Bell, 77, who was a senior leader in the Provisional IRA in the 1970s, was arrested at his home in Andersonstown on Tuesday. He has been charged with aiding and abetting murder and membership of the IRA. He is expected to appear in court on Saturday. …

OTR scheme review judge named, and NI Affairs Committee launches inquiry

Pete Baker on March 11, 2014, 10:01 pm

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Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey might well think “it would’ve been better to have left the issue alone” [I couldn’t possibly comment… -Ed]. But that’s not happening. Today the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, informed the House of Commons that “the Rt Hon Lady Justice Hallett DBE has been appointed to conduct an independent review of the administrative scheme to deal with so-called ‘on-the-runs’”. The terms of reference of the review are: to produce a full public account of the operation and …

#ShinnersList: “we are in position where it would’ve been better to have left the issue alone”

Mick Fealty on March 11, 2014, 1:21 pm

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So, how many crises do you know that last just 24 hours? Peter Robinson getting his inquiry from David Cameron is merely the close of phase one, not necessarily the end of the crisis per se. The Sunday Politics for instance carried this warning from Alex Maskey: I believe that Peter Robinson and others have created a storm they don’t know where it will actually all end up. And they may regret creating that storm because they have created a …

#ShinnersList: “I have never heard an explanation as to why Operation Rapid as a term, was never made clear to the board.”

Mick Fealty on March 7, 2014, 12:52 pm

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So the Policing Board eh? Not exactly a paragon of the protestant (or even Catholic) work ethic, yet it exploded into life last night with even the normally mild mannered Chief Constable telling his interlocutors: “Can I caution the member that under the code of conduct that he does not have the right to question the integrity of the members of the command team or myself.” Erm, now I know these guys have been conspicuously missing in action up to …

Why did no one in Sinn Fein tell the Ballymurphy families the Para’s could borrow Adams’ ‘public interest’ defence?

Mick Fealty on March 5, 2014, 12:03 pm

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Gerry Moriarty reports in yesterday’s Irish Times highlights the tragic case of the Ballymurphy families of eleven victims on and over several days after the introduction of internment. One victim’s family has gone to the extreme, and no doubt deeply upsetting, resort of having the body of their loved one exhumed to find evidence that he’d been shot long after having been wounded. John Teggart told UTV on Monday: “I think anybody out there whose parents were murdered in cold …

“Just to confuse matters, some elements of the tale of the On The Runs appear to have been hidden in plain sight.”

Pete Baker on March 1, 2014, 4:26 pm

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BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport with, perhaps, the best description of the mechanism used to address the issue of on-the-runs. From Mark Devenport’s BBC blog While republicans insist unionists knew all about what was happening to the On The Runs, that is not strictly true. Senior PSNI officers answered some questions posed by Northern Ireland Policing Board members and the scheme got a glancing reference in the voluminous Eames-Bradley report on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles. But when former …

Rationale for the #ShinnersList: “Preferential treatment of IRA men regarding their potential criminal liability…”

Mick Fealty on February 28, 2014, 5:06 pm

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On Facebook yesterday, I saw a query from an old schoolfriend (from P1, as it happens). He’s about as apolitical it is possible to be, but his curiosity was clearly piqued and he asked a question about how on earth the NIO managed to get all those letters out to the OTRs. The answer as we now know was via Sinn Fein. We’ll have to await the outcome of the Review to see just how rigorous the processes were. But …

Incidently, the elections are on May 22 after which the report will be delivered

Mick Fealty on February 27, 2014, 9:13 pm

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While we are all trying to assess the political damage (or otherwise) of the shortest crisis in Northern Ireland’s long and twisted history, it’s worth noting that the Judge led inquiry will only report after the Local elections… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

David Cameron: “We will appoint an independent judge to produce a full public account of the operation of this administrative scheme…”

Pete Baker on February 27, 2014, 3:56 pm

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The BBC reports that the Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a judicial review of the operation of the controversial administrative scheme to deal with so-called “on the runs” which was highlighted in the recent collapse of the John Downey case. From the BBC report Mr Cameron told a Downing Street press conference: “I agree with the first minister of Northern Ireland that after the terrible error of the Downey case it is right to get to the bottom of what happened. …

“The Government communicated back the response to Sinn Fein via a letter from the Northern Ireland Office…”

Pete Baker on February 26, 2014, 2:23 pm

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Via the Guardian politics live-blog. Worth noting the written ministerial statement from the NI Secretary of State, dated yesterday, which details the mechanism of the on-the-runs administrative scheme [added emphasis throughout] The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mrs Theresa Villiers): On 21 February, Mr Justice Sweeney ruled that an abuse of process had taken place in the prosecution of John Downey for offences relating to the Hyde Park bombing which took place on 20 July 1982. Mr Downey was part …

Policing Board member Gerry Kelly sues Board’s own ’employee’ the Chief Constable of the PSNI

Mick Fealty on February 25, 2014, 10:10 am

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Given the currency of the debate on reform of the Garda oversight system in the Republic, and Sinn Fein’s settled view that an NI style policing board system – ie, where power is distributed between a basket of political parties – is preferable to direct control by the minister it’s a little odd that their most senior representative on the PBNI has, as the Belfast Telegraph reports: “…taken a civil case against the PSNI chief constable (Matt Baggott) over the …

“a challenging project for which there is no agreed international framework…”

Pete Baker on February 24, 2014, 3:43 pm

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Despite having agreed “a detailed timetable” at a North South Ministerial Council in October 2012 “to bring in new laws for the mutual recognition of penalty points in both jurisdictions” The Ministers agreed the detailed timetable for the drafting, passage and enactment of parallel legislation, north and south, by 31st December 2014 to allow the mutual recognition of penalty points across Ireland. The timetable was agreed at today’s North South Ministerial Council Transport Meeting in Armagh, where Minister Varadkar met with the …

Garda Recipient gone, the pressure now moves onto Minister Shatter…

Mick Fealty on February 20, 2014, 11:28 am

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Yesterday’s leaders questions was once of those explosive occasions when you don’t quite get the extent of it at the time its happening. It’s clear from today’s front pages that Micheál Martin’s virtual bomb yesterday was well placed. Deputy Micheál Martin: Last week I read elements of the transcript of a conversation between the Garda confidential recipient, Mr. Oliver Connolly, and a Garda whistleblower, Mr. Maurice McCabe, such as how, if the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, …

Cunningham changes plea on Northern Bank robbery money-laundering charges

Pete Baker on February 18, 2014, 4:48 pm

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65-year-old Cork-based financier Ted Cunningham has re-joined the list of those convicted as a result of “Operation Phoenix”, a huge cross-border investigation into the December 2004 Northern Bank robbery – “involving anti-terrorist units, fraud squads and the Criminal Assets Bureau.” His original 2009 convictions, and his 10 year sentence, were overturned on appeal in 2012, after the Irish Supreme Court ruled that certain search warrants used had been unconstitutional. As an Irish Independent report noted at the time The three-judge [Court of Criminal Appeal] quashed …

O’Loan: “I wouldn’t be an Ombudsman if I had no power to investigate chief officers…”

Mick Fealty on February 17, 2014, 12:25 pm

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So Nuala O’Loan speaking on the current controversy managed to significantly cut through the hysterical noise in Dublin and bear in on the signal. All of Dan Keenan’s piece is worth reading (not least for the right of the GSOC to determine the levels of threat to its own security), but this is the money shot: “In running an office like this you have to work with the Government but I do know that the last time I was there, …

Executive finally reading what the Minister of Justice actually says about recruiting the next CC?

Mick Fealty on February 14, 2014, 4:22 pm

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Executive has taken no decision on criteria for Chief Constable appointment will examine consultation paper over next few days — Mark Devenport (@markdevenport) February 13, 2014 Again, I’m grateful for this snippet from Mark Devenport. After a lot of bellicosity from all parties on the policing board perhaps it is slowly sinking in with members (rarely heard from when the PSNI are under fire) that it is indeed the Minister of Justice’s responsibility to legislate the framework for the next …

“If Shatter thinks you are screwing him, you’re finished…”

Mick Fealty on February 13, 2014, 12:16 pm

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So as the Taoiseach apologises for going after the Garda Ombudsman Commission (if not for being more than a little sloppy with the actualite). John Mooney of the Irish edition of the Sunday Times on RTE’s Late Debate programme (transcript on broadsheet.ie) went on to suggest that the Garda Commissioner may not be in complete control of all his troops. The real puzzle here is not just why the Taoiseach was so quick to jump down the throat of the GSOC, but …

Aventas: “These scandalous attacks orchestrated by a small group of criminals and their equally criminal sponsors…”

Pete Baker on February 12, 2014, 3:15 pm

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As the BBC reports, Lagan Cement Group has suffered damage of more than 1m euros (£820,000) in three separate attacks. The attacks followed the announcement that Lagan was buying, subject to approval, Rooftiles in County Fermanagh from the Aventas Group. The arson attacks at Lisburn, County Antrim, Comber, County Down, and Carrigtwohill, County Cork, are reported to have occurred since the Feb 4 announcement of the sale of Rooftiles, which is based in Derrylin, to the Lagan Group. The Aventas …