PSNI chief insists ‘I’m not resigning’ after marathon policing board meeting

PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne has said he will not resign following a meeting with the Northern Ireland Policing Board that lasted for almost seven hours.

The meeting involved a discussion about the fallout from a High Court judgment which stated that two junior officers were unlawfully disciplined for making an arrest at a Troubles commemoration event in 2021.

Mr Justice Scoffield said the decision was made to discipline the officers to allay any threat of Sinn Féin abandoning its support for policing in the North. Sinn Féin denied there was any such threat but unionists accused Mr Byrne of taking unjustified action against the officers to placate republicans.

Ahead of the meeting, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said it was “time for change” at the top of the PSNI, claiming that public confidence in the force had been undermined.

Further commentary not appropriate

As he emerged from the meeting in Belfast on Thursday evening, Mr Byrne said: “The deputy chief constable and I spent several hours today in discussions with the Northern Ireland Policing Board surrounding the events of February 5-6th, 2021.

“I highlighted that, after carefully reviewing the full judgement, I sought further advice. After consideration, the question of an appeal is now live. Further public commentary around this matter is not appropriate at this stage.”

Asked whether he still holds the support of the Policing Board, he replied: “That’s a matter for the Policing Board.”

When asked about his position, he said: “I’m not resigning.”

The episode has heaped further pressure on Mr Byrne, who was already facing questions about his future after a major data blunder led to personal details of PSNI officers entering the public domain and the hands of dissident republicans.

Earlier, after a meeting between the parties and Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, at Stormont Castle, Mr Donaldson echoed comments by his colleague Trevor Clarke who said that Mr Byrne should resign.

‘Winning back public confidence’

“I think the key question for the Policing Board today is who is best placed to lead the police service in winning back public confidence and addressing the very real issues and problems that have arisen in recent weeks that have undermined public confidence,” Mr Donaldson said. “We have come to the view that it is time for change.”

Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy reiterated his party’s position that at no point did it insinuate or suggest it would withdraw from policing arrangements.

“The job of everyone in the Policing Board is to work with and to hold to account policing at all levels,” he said. “When there is an issue arises you want to see where decisions were taken which caused that issue.

“It was clearly appalling that someone who was a victim of a loyalist attack was arrested and handcuffed on the scene where he was commemorating those who lost their lives. The jobs of all political representatives is to ensure we hold all levels of policing to account and that is what we do.”

Asked if he supported Mr Byrne remaining in position, Mr Murphy said it was a matter for the Policing Board.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, who was the justice minister in 2021, addressed conversations she had had with Mr Byrne in the fallout from the policing operation in question.

“At all times as justice minister I made a clear distinction between my role as minister and the role of the oversight bodies,” she said. “At no time and on no issue did I ever seek to influence the chief constable’s decision-making in any way.”

The incident happened on the Ormeau Road in February 2021 during a service marking the anniversary of the February 1992 Sean Graham bookmakers attack in which five people were murdered. The two officers faced action in 2021 after the arrest of Mark Sykes, a survivor of a loyalist gun attack on the bookmakers in south Belfast.

Chaotic exchanges

The incident unfolded when police challenged people attending a memorial event amid suspicions that the size of the public gathering breached coronavirus regulations. Mr Sykes was handcuffed and arrested in chaotic exchanges captured on social media.

The incident triggered a major controversy at the time and sparked criticism of Mr Byrne, who apologised for the PSNI’s handling of the event. It was announced that one officer was to be suspended and one repositioned.

After a legal challenge by the Police Federation, Mr Justice Scoffield said: “Both the deputy chief constable (Mark Hamilton) and the chief constable were acutely aware of the threat of Sinn Féin withdrawing support for policing and/or withdrawing from the Policing Board if immediate action was not taken in respect of the officers’ duty status.”

In a statement in response to the court’s findings on Tuesday, Mr Byrne said he accepted the court findings.