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Claim unionists 'tried to push RUC into beating Catholics'

Former senior RUC and PSNI officer Alan McQuillan. Picture by Alan Lewis, Photopress
Former senior RUC and PSNI officer Alan McQuillan. Picture by Alan Lewis, Photopress Former senior RUC and PSNI officer Alan McQuillan. Picture by Alan Lewis, Photopress

A former high-ranking PSNI and RUC officer said unionist politicians frequently tried to push police "into beating Catholics" in the past.

Alan McQuillan, a former PSNI acting Deputy Chief Constable and RUC Assistant Chief Constable, yesterday dismissed suggestions that police should have intervened to stop an INLA show of strength at the funeral of Peggy O'Hara in Derry on Saturday.

The funeral of Mrs O'Hara (86), the mother of 1981 hunger striker Patsy O'Hara, was attended by a 36-strong INLA colour party.

Following a meeting with Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris on Monday, DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton claimed police admitted getting their approach wrong.

"The police did indicate to us that had they had more information at the time that they would have policed it differently," he said.

But Mr McQuillan, who now works as a security consultant, said a "heavy-handed" intervention could have led to a riot.

"In the RUC we went through a phase where there was very strong pressure from unionist politicians to stop funerals, break them up, do all sorts of things. That produced nightmare scenarios - we ended up precipitating disorder to satisfy the political objectives of other people," he said.

He said police used paramilitary funerals to gather intelligence.

"Some on the unionist side continuously tried to push us (the RUC) into beating Catholics," he told the Belfast Telegraph.

"It was pure, naked sectarian politics. You end up precipitating disorder and pushing people towards the paramilitaries. It is a stupid way to police a funeral.

"In my experience anything up to a quarter of people attending some funerals were reporting back to us (the RUC) and the rest talked to them freely. It was a golden opportunity to gather intelligence."