RUC name change 'first suggested 35 years ago'

A committee on police reform in Northern Ireland was urged 35 years ago by some officers to change the name of the force in a bid to attract more Catholic support, it was claimed today.

During evidence to a committee on police reform in Northern Ireland in 1969, some officers suggested the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s name should be changed to the Northern Ireland Constabulary in a bid to persuade more Catholics to join the overwhelmingly Protestant force.