Northern Ireland

'Quitting would be easy' says Chief Constable Simon Byrne after worst week since taking charge of PSNI

Chief Constable Simon Byrne speaking at PSNI headquarters about the policing of a commemoration event on the Ormeau Road
Chief Constable Simon Byrne speaking at PSNI headquarters about the policing of a commemoration event on the Ormeau Road Chief Constable Simon Byrne speaking at PSNI headquarters about the policing of a commemoration event on the Ormeau Road

CHIEF Constable Simon Byrne has said he will not be resigning after what he accepts was his worst week since taking charge of the PSNI in July 2019.

There has been public, political and internal criticism of the force's leadership following a series of high-profile events.

The arrest of a victim of the 1992 Sean Graham bookmaker's attack, following a memorial service on the 29th anniversary of the atrocity last Friday, resulted in the Chief Constable issuing an apology.

One officer has been suspended and one "repositioned" pending a Police Ombudsman investigation into the incident, in which Mark Sykes was arrested.

The Irish News understands that the officers involved had graduated to the force in the last year and one is originally from the south of Ireland.

They had been on a passing patrol, although sources say they had radioed through to 'Covid command' when they came across the small memorial gathering and were told wait until it started to disperse to make an approach to establish the organisers.

The Police Federation posted on Twitter that there was "real concern" within rank and file officers that "due process re unfortunate incident on Ormeau Road has been bypassed".

Read More:

  • Analysis: Confidence in policing badly damaged by events of last seven days
  • Nationalist crisis of confidence in policing after memorial arrest row - Michelle O'Neill
  • Simon Byrne tenure as PSNI Chief Constable punctuated with controversy

"Officers involved attended on instruction in respect of Covid legislation and should not be made scapegoats", the federation said.

Speaking to The Irish News last night, Mr Byrne said: "We recognised the amount of public concern and how serious an incident this was.

"It is not unusual for people to be suspended or relocated, I wonder sometimes do the public realise that.

"We looked at the whole event carefully, looking at bodycam video and having seen the totality of what was there, balanced against the public interest it was the right thing to do.

"I've been out a lot across the country in the last 12 months, and community policing is making progress in communities right across Northern Ireland.

"By taking the action we did, we weren't pandering to anyone's demands but recognising that this was a difficult issue.

Mark Sykes was arrested in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast on Friday
Mark Sykes was arrested in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast on Friday Mark Sykes was arrested in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast on Friday

"We're not judging the outcome and need to give the time and space to let the ombudsman do her job, collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses including the officers themselves.

"People would have judged if we didn't recognise the serious of the event and a lack of empathy for the impact."

Sinn Féin have been highly critical of the policing of the memorial event, while the DUP's policing board members said the chief constable's actions "raises many questions".

"There's often political commentary about policing actions, but I have to be fair, impartial and objective in our decision making," Mr Byrne said.

The Chief Constable added that the events in south Belfast have impact "both inside and outside the organisation".

"It's about recognising that around the clock people are putting themselves out there to do a really difficult job to protect the public.

"But we are an accountable body, working within an accountability framework and this was about being seen to do the right thing."

Police have also been heavily criticised for failing to intervene in east Belfast last week after a gang of men were filmed in the Pitt Park area linked to tensions among loyalists.

"The heart of that one is recognising these were two entirely different events - one was a commemoration to an atrocity," Mr Byrne said.

"I don't think we can compare that to police actions when we were trying to protect somebody from a bunch of hooded men in a mob.

"We weren't looking at police conduct in that particular case, we were looking at how we gathered evidence, how we investigated what happened and how we protected people.

"Our determination is to bring people to book where we can."

The chief constable did say he recognised the enforcement of Covid regulations placed uniform officers in difficult situations.

"In one sense we don't want to be here, to restrict people's lives and enforce quite draconian regulations", he said.

"Events of the last week and indeed some of the other criticisms we've faced in the last 12 months are all triggered by the unique nature of what we're dealing with.

"In a sense we can't win and we can't do right for doing wrong.

"We have tried to make our views known about what is enforceable and what is not."

When asked if this was his worst week since taking over as PSNI chief, Mr Byrne said "unequivocally yes".

"I think I said at the start of the week it was time for calm, wise heads and a return to normality - policing and politics aren't a great mix."

However, he added that he would not be resigning.

"It's about resolve, it's about humility and reflection at what has gone on and we are determined to try and work with communities to draw a line under this week's events.

"Quitting would be easy. I could walk out tomorrow and probably not have weeks like this again, but I came here recognising that this was a unique service with unique challenges.

"Policing here is very complex... my resolve is to keep going."

Read more:

  • Sean Graham families want to know why the PSNI attended memorial event
  • Questions over PSNI operation that remain