British slammed over Patten report failures

A leading academic and expert on policing has accused the British government of endangering the Good Friday Agreement by failing to implement the Patten report.

Professor Brendan O’Leary told a meeting in Derry this afternoon that by its refusal to implement the full Patten report, the British government had paved the way for possible disaster.

He said the Policing Bill utterly failed to deliver what the Agreement had promised, adding that although significant amendments had improved the bill, it still failed to ensure a genuine new beginning to policing. Prof O’Leary outlined a series of possible changes and described the arrival of a new Northern Secretary and the departure of Peter Mandelson as hopeful.

However, he warned that if this opportunity was not taken, then there is a possible disaster in store for the Agreement and the peace process.