Mallon: we won’t follow Sinn Fein

The Deputy SDLP leader Seamus Mallon today said his party would not follow in the ‘‘slipsteam’’ of any other party as it struggles in the face of rising Sinn Fein support.

He described his party’s endorsement of the latest proposals on reforming Northern Ireland’s police service as a decision made on the merits of the case and one which showed the differences between the SDLP and Sinn Fein.