Ulster Unionist Justice spokesperson Tom Elliott has led an Ulster Unionist delegation to meet with Keith Bristow the Director General of the National Crime Agency.
Mr Elliott said:
“We took the opportunity to meet with the Director General of the National Crime Agency Keith Bristow to discuss the issues surrounding the extent of the role to be played by the NCA in Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Unionist Party deplores the antics of Sinn Fein and the SDLP in seeking to prohibit the NCA from operating in Northern Ireland. The current situation is exactly what we were wary of when we opposed the devolution of policing and justice almost three years ago and it is with some regret that we have been proved right.
The benefits of having the NCA operate in Northern Ireland include law enforcement here being able to access skills at a National UK level, and take advantage of economies of scale.
It is quite staggering that anyone could support measures which will diminish our capacity to tackle organised crime including cyber-crime, economic crime, drug gangs and child exploitation.
The safety of our citizens must be paramount and the SDLP and Sinn Fein must explain why they want to bring about a situation whereby Northern Ireland is the weak link in the UK’s fight against organised crime.”