Press Releases - 2008

8 Jan 2008

COMMENT BY POLICE FEDERATION ON BELFAST MEETING OF EAMES BRADLEY CONSULTATIVE GROUP

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland which represents 9,500 officers has sought and received assurance this morning from the Consultative Group that suggestions that the past conflict would be described as a "war", that the government would be asked to apologise for their role during the Troubles and that there would be an amnesty for paramilitaries are purely speculation with "nothing ruled in or out".

Terry Spence, Chairman of the Federation says that a free ranging debate on what the findings of the Consultative Group might be is essential. However, he wanted to make it absolutely clear that the Federation would consider possible recommendations such as were aired at the Belfast meeting to be utterly scandalous and a betrayal of the sacrifice of life and injury by thousands of members of the police service over the past 40 years.

"We will be making a submission on behalf of the Federation and the wider police family to the Eames Bradley Group but we could not allow such wholly inappropriate ideas to go unchallenged at this stage," says Mr Spence.