Chief Constable Matt Baggott has come out fighting over his decision to forge ahead with plans to axe the full-time reserve.

As the fallout over his controversial decision rumbles on Mr Baggott has insisted that he can live without the full-time reserve and that he will not be swayed by any political arguments.

He did concede, however, that if the security situation was to drastically deteriorate he would not rule out the possibility of reversing his decision.

“The decision I made with unanimous support of my chief officer colleagues has been the result of a very thorough review of security and our current needs. I made this decision impartially, independently with my accountability as Chief Constable to the Policing Board,” he said.

“Any comment that I have somehow become a political lackey or playing into the political wind is simply not true. I will be accountable for what we do but I’m not playing a political game here and neither have I been asked to.

“It almost appears as if the future of the world rests on the shoulders of the full-time reserve. There are well over 4,000 police officers currently engaged in frontline policing and dealing with the security need so we are talking about 3% to 4% of the PSNI total numbers here — that's not to diminish their value, what they've done over time, but nothing that I've seen justifies the retaining of the full-time reserve at this time.

“I have done what is absolutely right which is to look at the effectiveness of the PSNI, to listen to the public need, to look at the safety and welfare of my colleagues and to fulfill my obligations. Nothing is going to detract me from that. I totally respect the political debate and the noise and I listen to it but I am not part of it, I am impartial.”

Admitting that there is a “very real security need” in Northern Ireland the Chief Constable said that phasing out the full-time reserve was a “tough nettle to grasp” but that he is “absolutely convinced” the PSNI can deal with day to day policing effectively.

When asked, however, if he would consider reversing his decision should the security threat deteriorate he said if the situation arose then he would “come back to the table”.

“I have to be responsible for dealing with matters as they emerge. At this moment and time we can deal with the security threat. We can deal with the whole range of policing by modernising and civilianising. If the security situation changes then clearly I will take great sounding, talk to people and come back to the table on that. But this moment in time, within the budget I have available, I am going to spend that money on getting operational police officers out on the streets,” he said.

“I do have access to more money through the (policing and justice) settlement if I need it to deliver against an emerging security problem. We are a long way down the track before getting to that.”

In his former position as head of Leicestershire Constabulary Mr Baggott would not have been accustomed to delivering policing in a highly-politicised climate.

For the first time since his arrival in Northern Ireland he has shown his teeth and made it abundantly clear that no-one will bully him into making policing decisions that he does not agree with.

“To be accused of making decisions based on some political favouritism, from people that haven’t taken the time even to speak with me, is a bit disappointing. My responsibilities are to the Policing Board and I am not going to be swayed by individual people, their own political agendas and their own views and expectations. I think it would be utterly wrong to do that.

“I am surprised the way this has played out over last couple of days because the issue for me is a collective desire to become as effective and personal a police force as possible. This is quite achievable. Criticise me on whether we are effective, don’t criticise me on making tough choices around justify retaining groups of people that the plan was already there for. With the money I have I can do it in a different way and do it better.”

For Mr Baggott the “honeymoon period” is now over. He said he is ready to make tough decisions and forge ahead with the normalisation of policing in Northern Ireland.

“We are at a point now where this Chief Constable is being asked to make tough choices, to deliver a really effective police service that will be the finest, to meet the current security needs and do that within a very complex political world.”