Ahead of a meeting with the PSNI Chief Constable to discuss last Friday’s incident outside Sean Graham’s bookmakers on the Lower Ormeau Road, the Ulster Unionist Policing Board member, Mike Nesbitt MLA, has outlined his areas of concern.

Mr Nesbitt said:

“I was working at Ulster Television on the day of the atrocity in 1992. The bookmakers shop is literally a few yards up the road from Havelock House and I will never forget the horror and brutality of the slaughter, at a shop I passed every working day. It follows that I support the right of families and survivors to mark the anniversary by visiting the monument on the gable wall of the bookmakers.

“I see three areas of questions arising from Friday’s unfortunate incident. First, did the officers at the scene follow the “4 E” policy of Engage, Explain, Encourage, Enforce? That is for the Ombudsman to investigate and I hope her office does so both thoroughly and speedily.

“The second set of questions is directed to the Chief Constable and his leadership team. Did he act precipitously in suspending one of the officers, given the Ombudsman is on the case?  Further, was there a lapse of corporate memory in terms of the area commander not making sure officers on duty that day were aware of the anniversary?

“Thirdly, while I respect dignified commemorations, there is a question over whether the event organisers fully complied with the Covid regulations and guidance. Recently, my party marked the 40th anniversary of the murders of former Stormont Speaker and Somme veteran, Sir Norman Stronge and his son James by the Provisional IRA. We did so with only two people representing the party at the memorial engraving in Parliament Buildings.

“This was a very unfortunate incident on the Lower Ormeau Road on Friday but there is no excuse for any politician to use it to question or undermine confidence in the Police Service. I heard Michelle O’Neill tell BBC NI television that Friday was ‘the latest in a long line of incidents’. Yet, I have not heard any of the Sinn Féin representatives on the Policing Board raise any ‘line of incidents’ at Board meetings recently. Nor have they articulated the view that there is a crisis of confidence in the police within the nationalist community.

 “Politicians must avoid the urge to use Friday’s events to be divisive and drag us backwards. Instead, we must learn lessons and move forward together.”