Bobby Storey funeral: Watchdog says ‘PS NI showed no bias in handling of funeral

Dear reader

I don’t think anyone is surprised that Doug Beattie is the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Today’s deadline for potential candidates to declare their interest in succeeding Steven Aiken came and went, with Upper Bann MLA Mr Beattie the only person to declare.
The party’s most capable media performer, the Military Cross holder has admitted that his liberal views deter existing members of the party who may even decide to leave the party. He said, very frankly, that the UUP may even have to shrink in order to grow.
The long-awaited report into the PSNI’s handling of the Bobby Storey funeral has found that police prioritised public security over enforcement of Covid-19 regulations without showing bias.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said it understood why the PSNI took this approach, given the likelihood of tensions, and because regulations were confusing.
The report has been criticised by unionists, with the TUV’s Jim Allister saying it “amounts to yet another attempt to tell the people of Northern Ireland to move on, nothing to see here, when we all know what the truth of the matter was”.
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Alistair Bushe

Editor
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