Minister must say ‘sorry’ for compensation gaffe

The chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland Liam Kelly says the Justice Minister needs to make a clear apology to officers over the ‘monumental gaffe’ she made on data breach compensation.

Mr Kelly said: “At one point in her interview the Minister was seemingly in a jovial mood and tried in vain to laugh off her mistake but I expected her to express a little remorse and contrition for over-egging the pudding.

“I’m still of the view that she needs to deliver an unequivocal apology, which I would welcome. In her latest radio interview, she acknowledged her mistake and admitted that the £119 million she said had been ‘ringfenced’ for data breach compensation was money that was not ‘done and dusted.’

“Her ‘mistake’ has angered officers. Yesterday, she built them up to expect compensation awards from April, but it quickly transpired that she’d over-stepped the mark and that the money hadn’t been signed off by the Northern Ireland Executive.

“If the Chief Constable was disappointed, our members were left speechless and massively disappointed. He was as confused as the rest of us. The Minister was wrong to say what she said and now needs to come out and say she was sorry. Only a proper apology and not something half-hearted will do.”