AN Ulster Unionist MLA has withdrawn from the panel to appoint a new PSNI Deputy Chief Constable, saying he was concerned by "some aspects of the recruitment process".
North Down assembly member Alan Chambers was to have been one of five politicians involved in choosing who would fill the senior role.
But he has withdrawn from the interview panel, saying in a letter to the Policing Board that the recruitment process must be "rigorously fair".
The board is carrying out interviews for the £168,000-a-year post this week.
Assistant chief constables, Barbara Gray and Mark Hamilton, are among those shortlisted, along with two external candidates who formerly served in the PSNI.
However, Stephen Martin, who was appointed temporary Deputy Chief Constable in 2018, did not make the shortlist.
Mr Martin later announced his retirement.
In his letter to the Policing Board, Mr Chambers said the new appointee "will have a major role in delivering policing throughout Northern Ireland".
"It is therefore absolutely vital that whoever is ultimately appointed to that post is done so via a process that is rigorously fair," he wrote.
"I regret to say that my experiences last week did not leave me with this impression.
"This is - to say the least - a most unsatisfactory state of affairs and I would therefore like it to be formally noted that my confidence in this recruitment process is less than it was at the start of last week, and far short of where it needs to be. Therefore, I wish to withdraw from this process forthwith."
In a statement, the board said the recruitment process had been under "independent scrutiny at all stages to provide additional probity and transparency".
