Saturday, January 21, 2006
Leak 'does not match reality' - Hain
In an interesting bit of news that has been picked up already by Balrog, the British Secretary of State Peter Hain has said a leak from a confidential Policing Board meeting over IRA activity bears "little resemblance" to reality.Peter Hain was speaking for the first time about the row involving Security Minister Shaun Woodward and the board.
It follows the refusal of a senior PSNI officer, Sam Kinkaid, to accept Mr Woodward's view that the IRA as an organisation was no longer involved in crime.
But Mr Hain told the BBC everyone was now waiting for the the Independent Monitoring Commission's assessment, whose report is due early next month.
"We cannot rely on leaks from the Police Board without any record of what was actually said," he said.
"The leaks bear very little resemblance, if any, to what I understand actually occurred there.
"What is very clear is that the chief constable, his chief investigating officers, my security minister and myself are all at one in awaiting the outcome of the Independent Monitoring Commission report which will make as assessment.
"Then we will all be able to form a judgement."
The Policing Board remains at odds with Mr Woodward.
A police briefing to the board said the IRA was involved in organised crime, but last month Mr Woodward said the IRA is no longer involved in such activity.
Mr Woodward wrote to the board and said there was a distinction between the actions of individuals and the "intention of organisations".
How interesting is this? What we are clearly witnessing is the British government finally standing up to the police at long last and perhaps acknowledging finally the filthy, vile, rogue elements that exist within the police service in the North.
Let's all take a look at Mr Hain's record though over the last few months which is something I also did here in a post back in November. Firstly he declared the NI economy unsustainable in the long-term and called for an all-Ireland model, secondly he unveiled plans to reduce the number of district councils in the North, thirdly he has set up a transfer of policing and on top of all that, he has now sided with his Security Minister Sinn Féin against the PSNI.
All I will say on all this is what I have said to unionists here on United Irelander for the last number of months - the British want rid of the North!
# posted by United Irelander @ 4:11 PM 
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