Norman Bettison has denied telling two men in separate pub conversations that he was part of a South Yorkshire Police internal team seeking to blame “drunken” Liverpool supporters for the Hillsborough tragedy.

The PSNI will probably have to return £14m to the British Government next month due to uncertainty caused by “huge” cuts, the UK's deputy chief constable said.

A former police officer has denied he vastly exaggerated the behaviour of Liverpool fans after a police chief told him “drunken, ticketless” supporters were to blame for the Hillsborough disaster.

A fire bomb attack on a Belfast city centre store represents a serious upsurge by dissident republicans, Northern Ireland’s Police Federation warned.

More than 100 people have been arrested as part of a major police crackdown on loyalist rioters.

Frontline police officers caught up in this summer’s violence on the streets of Belfast are undergoing psychiatric treatment, it has been revealed.

At least four blast bombs were thrown at police in east Belfast last night.

At least four blast bombs have been thrown at police in east Belfast, it was confirmed tonight.

More police officers are needed in the North to deal with the relentless pressure the force faces, the PSNI chief constable has said.

The man in charge of police recruitment in Northern Ireland today defended the rehiring of former officers but admitted the renewed dissident threat had helped delay full civilianisation of the force.

David Cameron has been accused of presiding over a “cover-up” regarding Conservative chief whip Andrew Mitchell’s clash with a Downing Street police officer.

A former Conservative MP named as one of the sources behind The Sun's controversial coverage of the Hillsborough tragedy today said he was "deeply and sincerely sorry" for the part he played in the scandal.

Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie who wrote the headline The Truth has offered his “profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline”.

Police and emergency services in England made “strenuous attempts” to deflect the blame for the Hillsborough disaster onto innocent fans, newly published documents about the tragedy revealed today.

The head of G4S is under pressure to quit his £830,000-a-year (€1.05m) job as he prepares to face questions from MPs over the Olympics security debacle.

Scuffles broke out as a contentious parade passed through North Belfast today.

CONSERVATIVE MP Mark Pritchard called for foreigners found guilty of participating in the riots to be ejected from Britain.

Police in the North have launched a campaign to attract 40 experienced officers from Ireland and the UK.

AN extra 1,000 police are needed to combat the North’s growing terror threat, rank and file officers warned yesterday.

An extra 1,000 police are needed to combat the North's growing terror threat, rank and file officers warned today.

UP to 40,000 frontline police jobs could be axed if suggested British government cuts of 25% go ahead, the Police Federation warned.

More than 20 police officers and their families in the North have been intimidated into leaving their homes by dissident republicans since January, it was revealed today.

Police manpower numbers in the North should be reviewed, the favourite for the justice ministry said today.

Northern Ireland’s chief constable today stood by his controversial decision to axe a police reserve unit and rejected any suggestion he was politically pressured into the move.

Army explosives teams in the North dealt with more than 750 dissident republican bomb alerts in the past two years, a police officers body said today.

The North’s full-time police reserve is to be scrapped, Chief Constable Hugh Orde confirmed today.

The British government must take further steps to boost unionists’ confidence ahead of the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will tell the British Prime Minister tonight.

Hugh Orde used the publication of his last annual report as PSNI Chief Constable today to pay tribute to five officers who died in the line of duty this year.

Rank-and-file police representatives today called for an urgent security review after a gunman shot dead the first PSNI officer in the North.

Dissident republicans have been blamed after a police officer was blasted with a shotgun outside a school in the North today.

Serving and retired officers lost confidence in the North’s outgoing Police Ombudsman, rank-and-file members said today.

Incoming Northern Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson should carry out a root and branch overhaul to weed out those allegedly leaking sensitive security force material, a retired policeman said today.

GARDA representatives have said they are concerned about the safety of a new digital radio system being rolled out in the force.

A body representing rank-and-file police officers in the North has cut its ties with the Police Ombudsman's Office.

The SDLP has called on the Irish government to help fund the building of a new police training college in the North.

Police and prison officers’ sick leave in the North cost almost £47m (€67.8m) in the last two years, it was revealed today.

THE row over controversial proposals by Justice Minister Michael McDowell to introduce a voluntary garda reserve intensified yesterday with the Garda Representative Association (GRA) claiming the measure would place the lives of existing gardaí at risk.

The British government was under fire from police officers’ representatives in the North today over a Bill which would enable rogue members of the security forces and paramilitaries to avoid jail sentences for offences committed during the Troubles.

More than 5,000 police officers in the North are due to launch a legal case today seeking compensation for trauma suffered during the Troubles.

Unrepentant Orange Order leaders tonight continued to shrug off blame for the days and nights of violence which engulfed Belfast after a contentious parade at the weekend.

LAWYERS for London bomb suspect Hussain Osman, 27, challenged his extradition to Britain yesterday.

GARDA representatives have called for an independent body to monitor any possible health damage associated with their planned digital communication system.

The Democratic Unionist Party is believed to have chosen a former head of the North's Police Federation as one of its candidate for the upcoming British election.

The British government is set to provide up to £30m (€43m) today to allow police to review unsolved murders in Northern Ireland.