The head of the PSNI's under-fire historical enquiries Team, Dave Cox, is to leave his post at the end of this month it was announced yesterday.
The move ends weeks of speculation about Mr Cox's future after a damning report published in July found the heT had serious shortcomings.
Chief Constable Matt Baggott has been under pressure to replace Mr Cox since the report by her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (hMIC) was published.
Mr Cox, a former police commander in London who has led the heT since its inception in 2005, will officially leave on September 28 but will stay on in an advisory role for a further fortnight.
The heT's director of military operations, Paul Johnston, will also leave at the end of his contract on September 28.
A PSNI chief superintendent and superintendent will be appointed on the same date to review all policies, procedures and standards in the heT and carry out the hMIC report's recommendations.
The departures of Mr Cox and Mr Johnston were announced following a meeting yesterday between the PSNI's senior executive team and the Policing Board's working group on the heT.
The hMIC report found the heT had investigated deaths caused by members of the security forces with "less rigour" than those attributed to paramilitaries.
It also claimed the team was inconsistent, had serious shortcomings and risked losing the confidence of victims' families.
Following publication of the report, the board said it had no confidence in the leadership of the heT.
Mr Baggott had been adamant that Mr Cox should stay until his contract expires at the end of December.
But during a heated exchange with the chief constable about the future of the beleaguered team on Thursday last week, board members insisted that Mr Cox should leave at the end of this month.
The heT is a specialist police team, set up in 2005 to re-examine 3,260 deaths during the Troubles.
Sinn Fein assembly member Pat Sheehan, a member of the Policing Board, said Mr Cox's departure should never have been in doubt.
"The PSNI knew the Policing Board's position was that the leader-ship of the heT could no longer command any confidence of the board," he said.
"The same sentiment was widely shared in the public, especially amongst the NGO sector and many of those families who have been directly bereaved during the conflict.
"There should never have been any confusion or indecision in what had to happen."
Mr Sheehan said the public was "entitled to see effective policing oversight".