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Sinn Fein pressures Gordon Brown over policing powers

Thursday, 26 November 2009

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The Government will come under pressure today to end the deadlock over the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Sinn Fein said Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness would use a Downing Street meeting with the Gordon Brown to warn that it was "unacceptable" that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had failed to agree a date for the move.

After Mr Brown's recent offer of a £1 billion package to fund the transfer of the powers, Mr McGuinness warned that failure to agree a deal before Christmas risked "deep trouble" for the political process.

Conor Murphy, a Sinn Fein minister in the Stormont power-sharing government, said: "The negotiations on the financial package for transferring policing and justice powers concluded some weeks ago. People rightly expected there to have been further movement before now.

"To date the DUP despite signing on for transfer at St Andrews, agreeing to a process to see it happen last year and finalising the financial package have yet to make the decisive step and agree a date for transfer.

"This is unacceptable. Agreements reached in political negotiations need to be honoured."

The transfer of the powers would establish a new Justice Ministry at Stormont in an administration led by the DUP and Sinn Fein, which share the top political post of the joint Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM).

But DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson has said he will only agree to a deal when his party is ready.

He has sought concessions on the future stewardship of Orange Order parades in Northern Ireland, plus the future of the police reserve and access to personal protection weapons for former security force members.

Sinn Fein has accused the DUP leader of stalling on a deal and of failing to face-down hardliners inside his party, plus political rivals in the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, who oppose any compromise with republicans on the issue of devolving law and order powers to the power-sharing administration.

Mr Murphy said: "(The) discussions with the Prime Minister as well as recent talks Martin McGuinness has held with the Irish government will focus on this, the issues of partnership and equality in government and failure thus far to agree a date for transfer of policing and justice powers.

"And more importantly, we need to hear from both governments how they intend to deal with this."

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Tommy, I am not trying to protect a Unionist veto, far from it, but I do want to protect the people of Northern Ireland, and all we have to do is look at the mess made of our education system by the idiots in Stormont, I dread to think what would happen to Policing and Justice if they had control.

The pathetic childish bickering that occurs between the DUP and Sinn Fein is a joke, and unfortunately Policing and Justice is not a joke when dissident republicans are intent on murdering people.

Like it or not, it was British army personnel who saved a young catholic police officers life this week, if Sinn Fein had their way these British agents would not be used in Northern Ireland and we would have another death this week, is that seriously the correct path with such dissident activities taking place?

Sorry Tommy, paint me as some sort of Neanderthal unionist if you wish, but my political opinions are for logical reasons, not bigoted ones, I simply don't trust Sinn Fein.

Posted by Steven73 | 26.11.09, 17:21 GMT

"I for one do not want to see Policing and Justice devolved until we see some calm restored to the situation in Northern Ireland"

I.E. let the current Unionist veto persist. Sorry buddy, those days are long gone.

The best justification for the putting of justice powers into the hands of the assembly is to let people in Northern Ireland control their own issues. Otherwise, this is just another issue which the dissents can point at and say: "we told you so".

Posted by Tommy | 26.11.09, 14:45 GMT

Its a case of grabbing at straws... squeezing the last drop of blood out of britain prior to their eventual departure........

gordon and co must be thinking the sooner we're out of this hellhole the better...

Posted by Seymour Bunting | 26.11.09, 13:11 GMT

It appears that SF are quite clearly advocates of a dictatorship and this stems their 'military' backgrounds.

The current transfer crisis is a case in point with the education minister and her party clearly showing their lack of understanding of the concept of democracy.

Now in this scenario, a case of democracy in action, they run squealing to to Westminster.

Posted by Gwrinkle | 26.11.09, 12:56 GMT

I'm sorry, but while I do not vote DUP I fully support the current delay in the devolution of Police and Justice.

Look at the mess Sinn Fein have made of our education system over the past few years, it is a joke, I wouldn't trust Sinn Fein with the remote control for my TV at the minute let alone Policing and Justice.

We then also have the dissident republicans killing soldiers and police officers, planting bombs and continuing the old IRA's criminal empire of fuel laundering, drugs and robberies; do you seriously think this is the time to see devolution of Policing and Justice?

I for one do not want to see Policing and Justice devolved until we see some calm restored to the situation in Northern Ireland, and please, if anyone can, I'd love to hear under the current circumstances why they feel this devolment would be a good idea.

While not ideal, Westminster is stable, Stormont is not, and with current dissident activities, stability is crucial, the time is not right.

Posted by Steven73 | 26.11.09, 12:10 GMT