Flanagan set to remain chief constable for month

Ronnie Flanagan is poised to delay his departure as Northern Ireland Chief Constable by one month until the end of March, it emerged today.

Despite being split on the issue, the North’s Policing Board decided by a majority vote to ask Mr Flanagan to extend his tenure while the hunt for his successor gets under way.

Deputy Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn will then step into the role until a permanent successor is found.

Nationalist SDLP members of the board had been pressing for Ronnie Flanagan to stand down at the end of the month as planned.

Their demands intensified following Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan’s scathing criticisms of his leadership in a report into the Omagh bomb investigation.

But Unionists on the board today resisted their call during a special meeting in Belfast.

In the end with members split nine to nine about asking Mr Flanagan to stay on for another month, chairman Professor Des Rea’s view proved crucial.

‘‘His bacon was saved by the casting vote of the chairman of the policing board,’’ claimed Mr Attwood.

But the west Belfast MLA insisted there would be heavy restrictions on the Chief Constable’s role while he serves out his final weeks.

‘‘If people think that four weeks is a sufficient figleaf for him they can draw that conclusion,’’ he added.