PSNI review: No removal of memorials, says PSNI chief

There will be no removal of memorials to murdered police officers from "any operational police stations," PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has said.

Earlier, the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation said Mr Byrne had given them such an assurance.

It follows a review of policing in south Armagh which questioned whether memorials should be on public view in any of the area's stations.

There were fresh calls for Mr Byrne to resign in a row over the review.

Published on Tuesday, the report contained 50 recommendations including the closure of Crossmaglen police station within five years.

The review found the PSNI lacked credibility in the area and officers generally regarded the community with suspicion and it recommended "exploring" the relocation of police memorials in south Armagh stations.

But Stephen White, chair of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation, told the BBC that Mr Byrne had told him explicitly that a general proposal around memorials within police stations was "not going to happen".

In a statement on Wednesday night, Mr Byrne clarified: "As I said yesterday in relation to Crossmaglen, with any agreed station closure and redevelopment, comes an inevitable requirement to consider how best to manage the transition of memorials and honour our fallen colleagues.

"When this time comes this will be handled properly and with sensitivity and in full consultation with the families of those murdered delivering policing in south Armagh."

DUP Economy Minister Gordon Lyons earlier called on Mr Byrne to resign, and said the review was "tone deaf" to unionist concerns.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson did not repeat the call, but said Mr Lyons spoke for the party.

Sir Jeffrey, who is due to meet Mr Byrne on Thursday, said: "I want to face him tomorrow.

"I want to explain to him why I believe that he has lost the confidence of unionists across Northern Ireland and I want to say to him what, I believe, that means for his position.

"I want to say that in person and then I will say publicly what I believe is the way forward on all of this.

"But I believe Gordon was absolutely right to spell out in clear terms where unionists are on this."

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie, who served in Crossmaglen in the 1980s and 1990s, said "we do need to do something in regards to policing in that area, and possibly in the wider south Armagh".

However, he said the report was a "PR disaster" and said it "doesn't lay out enough detail for us to know what [the chief constable] is talking about".

He said the issue of memorials did not need to be in the report, as monuments in Crossmaglen and Newtownhamilton "are not in public view".

Justice Minister Naomi Long said other political parties should "move back" from calls for Mr Byrne to resign.

Along with the DUP, the TUV has also called for Mr Byrne's resignation.

Mrs Long said there had been no consultation with the Department of Justice about what the PSNI recommendations would be, and it was right discussions about it take place at the Policing Board, which will meet on Thursday.

"What inroads have unionists made to assuage concerns and build confidence in communities? It's not just the responsibility of the PSNI and me," she said.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said political leaders within unionism "need to calm down and stop seeing every issue as a threat".

"Let's work together. What we have to do in policing is ensure the public out there, wherever they live, get full access to proper community policing."

Not for the first time, unionists are calling for Simon Byrne's resignation - but there are no indications whatsoever he is contemplating his position.

Mr Byrne will expect to ride out this latest storm: Remember, if he does not volunteer to go, only the Policing Board can force the issue.

To be clear, the DUP is taking aim at aspects of the report, like cross-border policing and the relocation of memorials.

Mr Byrne will focus on implementing other things like more visible foot patrols and officers on bicycles - changes which have been drowned out by political noise coming, mainly, from outside south Armagh.

Mr Lyons told Good Morning Ulster that "people are sickened at the thought of memorials to RUC officers being moved".

"The chief constable, after the Bobby Storey funeral, had said he had recognised there was work to be done within the unionist community," he said.

"And since he has done nothing, he has only compounded the lack of confidence that the people feel.

"He seems to be completely tone deaf to the concerns of the unionist community at best, and at worst he understands their concerns and has decided to do nothing about it."

The East Antrim MLA said it was an "incredibly ill-judged report".

The DUP has previously called for the chief constable's resignation over the PSNI's handling of the Storey funeral last year.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy defended the report, saying it was about "building a better relationship with the community".

"If there are problems in unionist areas, do what we did, go and engage with the PSNI, articulate those problems, have them engage with the community and come up with solutions," said the Sinn Féin MLA for Newry and Armagh.

"There are over 50 recommendations in the report. At the core of it is building a better relationship with the community, of dealing with issues like response times, like access to policing.

"The issues of memorials, if you listened to the chief constable yesterday, are hugely sensitive and need to be dealt with in a respectful way. I agree with him on that.

"Unionism immediately seizes on this and presents it in the worse possible interpretation and looks for the chief constable to go."

Speaking on Tuesday, the chief constable said the PSNI had committed to closing the station and the next step was to work with the policing board.

Discussing the proposal to relocate memorials to murdered police officers, Mr Byrne said: "It's not about disrespecting their past, their sacrifices and the hole that's left in people's lives.

"The actual issue of memorials won't be one we will take forward immediately.

"We want to move carefully with people that are affected by any change, which is serving officers, the federation, people that have worked with us previously and their families and the associations which represent them to see how best we address these issues."