Distretto Nord

Accordo di Hillsborough: votare NO potrebbe costare 800 milioni di sterline

‘No’ vote could cost PSNI £800m

Extra funding worth £800m could be lost if the Northern Ireland assembly fails to agree the transfer of policing and justice powers, Shaun Woodward has warned.

Stormont | BelfastPlans for a new policing college and more community policing would be disrupted were MLAs to oppose plans to switch security powers from London to Belfast, the Northern Ireland Secretary added.

Policing and justice powers will be devolved on 12 April, if a resolution jointly tabled by the First and Deputy First Ministers gets cross-community support in an Assembly vote next week.

But the Ulster Unionist Party has vowed to oppose the move.

Mr Woodward said: “When assembly members go into the lobby next Tuesday not only do they have the responsibility of ensuring the peace process is cemented and that the political institutions continue. The £800m of additional money which the Prime Minister has made available for the new justice department will not be available (without a yes vote).

“The chief constable (Matt Baggott) has made a number of assumptions with the Policing Board for spending on policing in Northern Ireland for the coming years.

“Those assumptions are fundamentally based on discovering the £800m additional money.”

He said there was no question of him taking any security risks – with the dissident threat heightened – but he warned that community policing would be affected.

“People would have to explain why there would be no additional money to deal with all the issues that arise,” he added.

The UUP was the only party to boycott the unveiling of the Hillsborough Agreement last month.

Leader Sir Reg Empey is said to still be “reserving judgement” on the deal brokered by the DUP and Sinn Fein after repeatedly complaining that he had been kept in the dark during the marathon talks.

Last month, Sir Reg said his party would not sign up to the deal unless a “consensus” was found to solve the education debate.

He has also been highly critical of what he calls the “dysfunctional nature of the executive”.

Pagina precedente 1 2
Tags

René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

Related Articles

Close