PSNI Simon Byrne apologises for Crossmaglen 'offence'

Northern Ireland's chief constable Simon Byrne has apologised over his Christmas day tweet from Crossmaglen.

It showed him posing for a photo outside the PSNI station with police officers holding rifles.

Some nationalist politicians criticised him, saying the image was offensive to the local community.

In a statement, Mr Byrne said his message was "never meant as a comment on the community of Crossmaglen and South Armagh".

"I am sorry for any offence that has been caused," he said.

Mr Byrne was speaking after a meeting with SDLP representatives on Tuesday.

SDLP councillor Pete Byrne said the police chief told him that the tweet had been "ill judged".

On Monday, the chief constable spoke to Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy had described the post as "offensive to the local community and utterly unacceptable".

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Byrne said: "I have reflected on the issue at length and have had many conversations with both colleagues and external stakeholders, up to and including a number of meetings with elected representatives yesterday and today.

"I am really proud of the local officers who, working together with local people, have made so much progress for policing and the community in recent years.

"It is only by working together that we will continue to make progress."

The chief constable has commissioned a review of policing in south Armagh.

After Tuesday's meeting, Councillor Pete Byrne said: "He was clear that he apologised if he caused any offence to the local community and assured me it was not his intention to do so. He accepted that it was ill judged.

"We had a frank conversation about the importance of language and nuance.

"He was clear that he apologised if he caused any offence to the local community and assured me it was not his intention to do so."