Ulster Unionist Leader Mike Nesbitt has called on the First and deputy First Ministers to be honest about the real level of funding involved in the so-called ‘Fresh Start’ Agreement, following a statement by the Secretary of State on Tuesday in which she confirmed that £160m of PSNI funding was not part of Fresh Start but would have been made available even without that agreement.

Mr Nesbitt said:

“In yesterday’s written statement on the security situation in Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State referred to £231m of Additional Security Funding that had been made available to the PSNI from 2011-16.

“The Secretary of State also said that £160m of Additional Security Funding was confirmed by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement. This money was in fact the continuation of extra Treasury support that the PSNI have been getting since 2011.

“This means that it was not negotiated as part of the Fresh Start Agreement but it was in fact money that was coming whether the DUP and Sinn Fein had reached an agreement or not. 

“This is very important, because at point 8.1 on page 28, the Fresh Start Agreement states ‘The UK Government confirms that it will provide additional security funding of £160m over the next five years to support the PSNI.’

“The implication of the Fresh Start Agreement is that this is new money and no doubt part of a bid to inflate the importance of that agreement in an attempt to impress the media and the general public.

“It is extremely important that politicians are honest with the electorate. It is only in this way that the conduct of politics in this country will be held in higher esteem than is currently the case under this dysfunctional DUP/Sinn Fein coalition.”