Arlene Foster 'wrong' not to talk to NI police chief

Arlene Foster is wrong not to talk to the chief constable over recent loyalist violence, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLA Doug Beattie has said.

Mr Beattie said the focus should now move away from Simon Byrne.

It comes as both a former advisor to Tony Blair and a former NI secretary said the first minister should "back off" over her criticism of Mr Byrne.

But Mrs Foster reiterated her calls for the chief constable to step down.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) head is to brief the Policing Board later about violence over the Easter period in a private session.

Forty-one police officers have been hurt and 10 people arrested as a result of trouble in loyalist areas.

There were no reports of serious disorder on Tuesday night, but police maintained a presence in many areas.

Some have linked the violence in parts of greater Belfast and Londonderry in recent days to the decision by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) not to prosecute anyone who attended the funeral of former IRA man Bobby Storey in June 2020.

It was attended by 2,000 mourners - including Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill - at a time when Covid restrictions were in place.

The leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), UUP, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) have said Mr Byrne's position is untenable over the PSNI's handling of the funeral.

Mrs Foster has condemned the violence, but has not spoken to the chief constable.

Mr Beattie said Mrs Foster's decision not to engage with the chief constable in the wake of loyalist violence was wrong.

"I think Arlene is wrong in this particular instance. I don't want to keep focusing on the chief constable," Mr Beattie told the Nolan Show on Wednesday morning.

He said the focus needs to be on Sinn Féin.

Last week, Mr Byrne expressed surprise at the conclusion by the PPS.

On Wednesday, Jonathan Powell, the former advisor to Tony Blair at the time of the Good Friday Agreement, said politics has got "quite hot" again in Northern Ireland and people are "playing with matches".

"Politicians trying to second guess the police when they're making operational decisions is really a mistake and I hope that the first minister will back off on this and allow the police to proceed with their job," Mr Powell said.

It was view shared by former NI Secretary Shaun Woodward, who said it was "potentially a dangerous situation".

"There's a moment here, where, to borrow Jonathan Powell's words, you need to state your position but now back off," he said.

"Continuing to needle this particular thing will undo much greater issues of community policing in Northern Ireland."

Mrs Foster said she had a duty to speak out about the PSNI's failure to uphold Covid restrictions during Bobby Storey's funeral.

"The police, of course, have my full support," Mrs Foster told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme, but added that ordinary police officers had been let down by their senior management.

Mrs Foster said Mr Byrne had not asked to meet her and she had not asked to meet him.

"I have spoken to him [Simon Byrne] on many occasions and told him that the differential treatment for Sinn Féin has to stop," Mrs Foster said.

"He has been warned about it on a number of occasions. However, it continues to happen. That sort of specialised treatment for a political elite is very very damaging."

Sinn Féin's John O'Dowd said at a time when the police were "under nightly attack" from loyalists, it would be "helpful and send out the right signals" if the first minister would agree to meet the chief constable, along with the deputy first minister.

Mr O'Dowd said such a meeting would "show unity of purpose across the board, across the political spectrum, to ensure that those who are orchestrating this violence, those who are putting petrol bombs into the hands of 12-year-olds, get a very, very clear message that it's not acceptable, that they're opposed to, and that the police will have to take the action which is necessary to stop them".

DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell told BBC's Talkback programme that has no doubt that Mrs Foster will speak to the chief constable.

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister Naomi Long told the Today programme that policing had been "undoubtedly" politicised at a difficult time."I think when any politician declares they have no confidence in the chief constable that is a very serious matter, and I think when that is the first minister of Northern Ireland, that becomes even more serious.

"It is incumbent on all of us in public life and those of us in positions of leadership not simply to declare whether or not we believe the chief constable has our confidence, but to work to ensure that he has the confidence of the public and of the community."

The disorder has also been linked to loyalist frustrations over the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Brexit deal.

The NI Protocol has increased checks and caused disruption for some goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, creating an Irish Sea border.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said politicians need to "dial down" the rhetoric around Brexit and policing.

"We can't use that kind of language, calling for people to resign, calling for protocols to be scrapped that are never going to be scrapped," he said."Eleven year olds with petrol bombs don't understand the intricacies of the trading relationship between Northern Ireland and Britain or Northern Ireland and the EU, but tension has been whipped up by politicians.

Shadow NI Secretary Louise Haigh said the prime minister should be speaking out about the recent violence.

"The consequences of Brexit always had the potential to upset the very delicate balance of identities in Northern Ireland," she told BBC Radio Foyle."I don't think enough consideration was given to the consequences of the border down the Irish Sea."