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Belfast Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Ex-PSNI officer who now says he lied about sectarianism restated his views after bizarre exchange
Two and a half months ago, 'Sean' did an extended interview with the Belfast Telegraph in which he said he had been one of the PSNI's first Catholic recruits, but he regretted ever joining the police. We verified his identity and put his allegations to the PSNI, which did not dispute them but said that a senior officer would meet him to discuss them. Days later, he said he was taking legal action against the PSNI. However, today he said in a statement that he had 'misled' us, that he is 'deeply sorry' and that everything he'd claimed about sectarianism was 'untrue and did not in fact occur'. The statement was not sent to the Belfast Telegraph but published in the News Letter. He gave no reason for inventing the allegations. Our attempts to contact Sean failed, with his phone number now not taking calls. We are continuing to protect his identity due to the genuine threat from dissident republicans which we have independently verified. However, we can now report that two weeks ago, Sean privately told us he continued to stand over his allegations. A fortnight ago, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher went to the Policing Board to say he'd met Sean and was highly impressed by the 'thoroughly decent' former officer. However, bizarrely, he said he was also satisfied that there had been no sectarianism – and that the unit against whom the allegations were made were also great people. Mr Boutcher said: 'I cannot explain the article in the newspaper'. When pressed by UUP MLA Alan Chambers on whether Sean had stood over his allegations, the Chief Constable said he wouldn't be discussing the issue further. The Belfast Telegraph spoke to Sean that afternoon to ask for clarification on what had been said in the meeting with Mr Boutcher. Referring to the sectarianism he now says didn't happen, he told us: 'At the end of the day, this is something that's happened me and now it's been totally denied from the top down, so where do I stand? How do I make it more truer [sic]…it already is true. I don't really know where I stand.' He went on: 'I spoke to the Chief Constable. We had a great conversation for an hour, hour and a half. I explained my experiences and now I've had this today that he's said nothing's happened. I don't know what's going on…I just don't understand it; I don't understand it, to be honest. It's all very unsettling, to be honest.' When we put to him that the Chief Constable's statement at the Policing Board – where he said Sean was an impressive individual but so was his former unit – left the situation confused because either the incidents happened or didn't happen, he said: 'Of course.' He said the reason he wasn't asking for an investigation into the allegations was that he had 'no confidence' in the PSNI handling of such claims and 'this goes straight to the top and nobody's doing anything about it'. Pretending that he was dropping his legal action for reasons other than that the claims were untrue, he said it would 'cost a terrible lot of money' to take a legal case and his medical retirement meant he didn't want to enter a court battle. Referring to the Policing Board meeting, he said he was 'so surprised' to hear what Mr Boutcher said because 'the story I told him was basically the story I told you'. He went on: 'When I've got the Chief Constable coming out today and saying 'well, there is nothing', that just deflates me. I just feel for all the other officers in the PSNI now; they don't have a voice – they'll probably look at this today and say 'what's the point'.' He said he felt that he was being 'ganged up on'. Today, Sean said the opposite, describing his former colleagues as 'outstanding police officers and wonderful human beings'. He said: 'The allegations I made are all untrue. I am unequivocal about that. Nobody subjected me to sectarian abuse for wearing ash on my forehead. Not once did I hear Catholic colleagues being referred to as 'fenian ba**ards'. I never heard colleagues whistling the sash in corridors. I never heard or saw colleagues referring to nationalist politicians on TV as 'fenians'. 'I am deeply sorry that I claimed I had experienced sectarian abuse or witnessed sectarianism in the PSNI...I am also truly sorry that I misled the Belfast Telegraph and by extension the public.' Sean gave no clear explanation for why he'd behaved as he did, beyond saying that he'd been medically discharged from the PSNI with complex post traumatic stress disorder and 'being unwell has also made me vulnerable in ways upon which I do not wish to expand on publicly'. Days after his interview was published, Sean became a client of prominent Belfast solicitor Kevin Winters, who put out a statement on his behalf in which he said he was going to sue the PSNI over the discrimination. After the Policing Board, Sean then got Mr Winters to issue a statement in which he said he stood over every word of his interview. After being unable to contact Sean today, we spoke to Mr Winters. He said: 'Given solicitor-client confidentiality, we can make no comment suffice to say that any previous representations made were on instruction.' Today Mr Boutcher issued a statement in which he made no criticism of Sean for his dishonesty, despite that leading to anger and hurt among his former colleagues. Instead, the Chief Constable said: 'I want to acknowledge Sean's courageous decision to issue this statement and I urge everyone to respect Sean's plea for privacy'. Mr Boutcher emphasised that 'there was no sectarianism in this case' and said he was 'grateful to Sean for setting the record straight'. He added: 'After my meeting with Sean I described him as a decent man and his statement of retraction is nothing short of what I expected. To their huge credit the very colleagues Sean criticised also described him to me as a good and decent man.'
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Union criticises Stormont over refusal to fund PSNI plan
The union that represents rank and file police officers in Northern Ireland has accused the Stormont Executive of not giving a damn about policing after a refusal to fund a five-year recovery plan for the PSNI. The £200 million (€176m) plan included the recruitment of hundreds of new officers to increase the PSNI's headcount to 7,000 by 2028. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher submitted the plan to Stormont after warning that the current number of officers, just over 6,200, is insufficient to keep the public safe. Addressing the annual conference of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, its chair Liam Kelly revealed Mr Boutcher was recently informed that his plan cannot be funded. "To say there is disappointment would be a gross understatement," he told delegates. Mr Kelly said it "would be more accurate" to say the federation "is appalled by this decision". "It is a slap in the face to our officers," he said. "It's also the abandonment by an elected administration whose solemn duty and responsibility is to safeguard the entire population and give us the tools to combat crime and terrorism, stamp out a multi-million pound drugs trade, deal with people traffickers, investigate general crime and make our roads safer," he added. The number of police officers in Northern Ireland fell by 172 to a total of 6,224 during the past year. Mr Kelly referred to independent research, commissioned by the PSNI last year, which recommended that it needs up to 8,500 officers to reflect Northern Ireland's rising population. "Right now, we're 2,276 shy of that and nobody in government seems to care or give a damn," he said. The federation chair said the decision not to fund the plan would have an inevitable impact on the PSNI's resources and services, describing it as "ruinous for policing". He praised Mr Boutcher, who was in the audience, for doing all he could "to convince, persuade, cajole and even embarrass our administration to provide him with the finances he requires to do the job". 'Breaking point' Mr Kelly said there is something odd about the way policing in Northern Ireland is treated in comparison to the situation in England and Wales, where the British government last year announced £200m funding to create 3,000 new posts. "However, in Northern Ireland there is neither a willingness nor a determination to invest in policing in the same way the government does in England and Wales," he said. "We are the poor relation," he added. He told delegates the PSNI is currently "at breaking point" and in need of a lifeline. "From this podium today, I renew my appeal to our executive to change course and recognise the desperate need for urgent positive intervention before there is any further shocking damage done to our police service," he said.
Belfast Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Legal action by ex-PSNI officer alleging sectarianism is being dropped, says Chief Constable
Boutcher says he's satisfied that sectarianism alleged by the man didn't happen and doesn't need investigated – despite that officer standing over his claims. A former Catholic PSNI officer who said he was taking legal action over alleged sectarianism is no longer doing so, the Chief Constable has said. Jon Boutcher also said he is satisfied that sectarianism alleged by the man didn't happen and doesn't need investigated – despite that officer last night standing over his claims.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
PSNI: Legacy cases could have been settled sooner, says lawyer
Civil cases related to the Troubles that have led to a £25m bill could have been settled sooner, at a lower cost, by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), a lawyer has Ó Muirigh was responding to comments made by PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher to MPs on Wednesday, in which he said lawyers had received almost £18m of the £25m the PSNI has paid out to settle Boutcher described legacy cases as "a green field site for lawyers" due to an "attritional approach by all security agencies around information disclosure".However Mr Ó Muirigh told Good Morning Ulster he believed that many of the cases he had been involved with "could have been dealt with much earlier". He said the PSNI's approach "is to settle cases at a very late stage".Mr Ó Muirigh added that this was "to the detriment of families, who have been waiting decades - that is the key issue here". He told the programme the cases often involve "protracted discovery processes" and other legal applications, which "rack up costs" and appear to be down to "a policy of defending the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) at, literally, all costs". The RUC were the police force that proceeded the PSNI and existed during the Troubles, Northern Ireland's 30-year period of News NI have contacted the PSNI for comment. Why are Troubles legacy cases a big issue in Northern Ireland? The question of how to deal with criminal and civil cases related to the Troubles - known as legacy cases - has been a major political issue in recent UK government has begun the process of repealing the controversial Legacy Act, legislation introduced by the previous Conservative government that was opposed by political parties and victims groups in Northern PSNI is currently dealing with 1,100 civil actions - in 2014, the figure was 150. On Wednesday, Mr Boutcher told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster that the PSNI was not properly funded for legacy issues and that the costs it was paying out could pay for hundreds of extra officers."We are spending just over £20m a year. That would be about 400 police officers," he said."But we've been left with this millstone, this anchor, that holds the PSNI back."It is a considerable burden on us."The PSNI's costs cover not just court cases, but also operating its Legacy Investigations Branch (LIB).Mr Ó Muirigh said that "legacy matters" and that it should not impact on the police's budget."We had a Stormont House Agreement over 10 years ago, a political agreement, which has been failed to be implemented by successive British governments, which envisaged that legacy be removed from the PSNI."He added that it falls on the UK government to address the issue, saying that "legacy is toxic for everyday policing".
Belfast Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Restriction on naming Stakeknife ‘bizarre', agrees Chief Constable as he calls for greater transparency
Jon Boutcher gave evidence today to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee's hearing on 'The Government's new approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland', where he repeatedly accused authorities of being too reticent to disclose information to legacy inquiries. The top PSNI officer agreed with the DUP leader Gavin Robinson's suggestion that 'it is bizarre that we're having a discussion about naming' the British Army's top agent inside the Provisional IRA during the Troubles, known to be the now-deceased former head of IRA internal security, Freddie Scappaticci. Mr Boutcher also warned that 'the lack of information being provided' on legacy cases 'creates conspiracy theories'. 'It's becoming pantomime and affecting the credibility of us as the security forces,' he said. 'I would hope the Secretary of State will see that. But he will be receiving arguments from lawyers saying: you can't name him, because that will have a chilling effect. I would argue strongly that it will not. 'Sometimes, you lose the right to have that sort of voice when you have failed to manage informants and agents properly, when they have behaved in the way they have behaved, which we set out in the Kenova report. 'There has to be a line around national. But we have prevented even uncontroversial information coming out. 'If [naming Stakeknife] doesn't happen, then I think that is the sounding of a bell to legacy not succeeding moving forward.' Mr Boutcher headed up Operation Kenova, which linked the spy to at least 14 murders and 15 abductions. However, when the interim report was published in March 2014, it did not confirm Stakeknife's identity, which is known to the PSNI chief. 'I cannot make his name public without official authority,' Mr Boutcher said at that time. 'So far, the Government has refused to give such authority.' Baroness Nuala O'Loan, the former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, also gave evidence to the hearing and agreed that it was time to name Stakeknife. The UK peer argued that the state's failure to provide information was having a negative impact on legacy inquest and used the example of murdered GAA club chairman Sean Brown's family, who 'have been back in court something like 58 times trying to get information'. 'That is a scandal,' she said. Baroness O'Loan also called on the Labour Government to find a new approach to legacy issues, saying that the low number of cases brought to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) 'is indicative of the fact that people don't trust it'. She said it should set aside a specific budget to deal with legacy issues, 'in particular to ringfence a separate legal legacy budget to cover all aspects of providing a criminal justice system to deal with the past'. 'The reality is our criminal justice system is quite profoundly broken. Rape cases are being listed for 2028 and 2029,' Baroness O'Loan continued. 'For victims, the horror of that situation. For those who are accused and are innocent, unless and until they are found guilty, that is also a terrible situation.'
