Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Mike Nesbitt MLA has stated Sinn Fein`s attitude has further damaged community relations.
Mr Nesbitt said:
“Our thoughts are with the McConville family tonight. Their 42 years wait for truth and justice makes Gerry Adams's complaint over the "two month" delay between him offering to speak to the PSNI and their response seem churlish to say the least. Let us remember it was Gerry Adams who initiated this sequence of events.
“I encourage the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to complete a thorough and speedy review of the PSNI file.
“Beyond the McConville family, we all lose as a result of Sinn Fein's unreasonable response to what has happened.
“I refer to the deputy First Minister's decision to accuse the PSNI of containing a cabal of officers dedicated to an anti-Agreement agenda. He did that without evidence and I challenge him to produce his proof or withdraw this most serious allegation, which suggests there are senior police officers working in defiance of the will of the people as expressed in the 1998 Referendum on the Belfast Agreement.
“I also refer to remarks by Alex Maskey MLA, who said, and I quote, Sinn Fein "can support what we want" in terms of their future relationship with the PSNI. That hints of a qualified endorsement of policing. What is a young nationalist thinking of a career in the police to make of that?
“Finally, I refer to the words of Bobby Storey, another senior Republican and Maze Prison escapee, whose rage at Gerry Adams's arrest prompted him to rant "How dare they (the PSNI) touch our Leader!" when addressing a rally on the Falls Road on Saturday.
“Support for the police must be absolute, not conditional. Everyone has the right to challenge police decisions and actions, but if you support the operational independence of the PSNI, as we do, then all the questions about timings, tactics and the rest that Sinn Fein have raised over the last few days should have been brought to the Policing Board, not the media.
“Sinn Fein's attitude has further damaged community relations, confidence in their commitment, and the ability to build the missing mutual trust that is essential to completing the journey to a fully fair, peaceful and prosperous society.”