Cowen and Brown firm on devolution of policing powers

THE “turbulence” unleashed by the Robinson scandal must not stand in the way of an urgent deal on devolving justice powers to the North, Dublin and London last night insisted.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen and British premier Gordon Brown used a crisis summit in Downing Street to demand a swift transfer of policing powers to the Belfast Assembly.

With talks between the DUP and Sinn Féin at a make-or-break stage, the two governments moved to reassert that a deal was still “realistic and achievable” despite “the turbulent events of recent days”.

“The completion of the devolution of policing and justice powers will play a vital role in ensuring the stability of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, underpinning the hard-won progress that has been achieved over the last number of years,” the two leaders said in a joint statement.

The Taoiseach and Mr Brown pointed to the attempted murder of PSNI Constable Peadar Heffron last Friday as a “stark reminder that there remain those whose aim is to destroy all that has been achieved”.

The next few days are crucial in hammering out any deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin, as legislation needed to transfer policing powers must go through Westminster before the British parliament rises for an expected May general election.

Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward warned unionists not to leave a political “vacuum” which could be exploited by dissident republicans and, instead, cut a deal on policing powers which Sinn Féin insist should have been devolved to Belfast by May 2008 under the St Andrews Agreement.

Hopes of a breakthrough have been raised by the relatively positive attitude attributed to acting DUP leader Arlene Foster who has stressed her party must ensure a deal is “done in the right way”.

“I believe it will be for the best for the people of Northern Ireland, but we must do it in a way that we bring it to a Northern Ireland that is stable so the policing powers that come here will be durable and lasting.

“Our chief constable would say he’s already the most accountable chief constable in these islands.

“There is a lot of devolved power already in Northern Ireland in relation to policing and justice. This is really the last piece of the jigsaw and we want to make sure we’re doing it in the right way,” she told the BBC.