Sinn Fein support for PSNI

Gerry Adams the President of Sinn Fein has said that he is confident that his motion asking for support for the Police service of the north of Ireland (PSNI) will be approved by the executive which is meeting in Dublin. Gerry Adams called the meeting of the executive to consider his proposal for a special party conference on policing and justice next month.

Mr Adams said that if his motion was successful, the ard fheis (party conference) would be held in January. "I think what I am putting forward is the right thing to do," he said. I will move all I can to meet all the concerns of the people involved, but this is me and our core leadership saying this is the right thing to do and this is the time to do it."

The Sinn Fein move was welcomed by the north of Ireland Secretary Peter Hain. "All parties, Ian Paisley's DUP included, support the principle of policing and justice being devolved to the incoming executive when the time is right. The question was getting that time-frame in view and, on the other hand, getting absolute clarity that Sinn Fein were prepared to take what was a historic step for them, a seismic step."

The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson also welcomed Mr Adams's statement and added that "words needed to be matched by deeds. We will look at that very carefully to see what its implications are in terms of republicans calling on people in their communities to support the police, to co-operate with the police, to co-operate with the courts, and, if we get that in word, then it needs to be matched by deed. It's the quality of all of that that will determine how quickly we can move."

SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell urged Sinn Fein to "seize the initiative on policing, People on the ground have made the decision a long time ago that we need honest policing and we also need to protect the public" Mr McDonnell said.

But Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said Sinn Fein had "lost the battle on policing, They have no support outside their own ranks for their current policy, The key to all of this is, what decision is the ard fheis being asked to endorse? Is it a qualified decision with power to be handed to the leadership to handle, It's a first step. Will it be clear-cut or will there be further obfuscation?"

Alliance Party leader David Ford said: "There is no point in holding the ard comhairle unless Gerry Adams is prepared to recommend to it that a special ard fheis is held to ensure that Sinn Fein moves forward and accepts its full responsibility in the area of justice and policing. Some of us have been waiting for this since 1998. It's long overdue but nonetheless welcome."

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Sinn Fein support for PSNI