DUP demands apology after RUC branded a paramilitary force

There's a row in the North after the London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Ian Blair, referred to the old RUC as a paramilitary force.

The DUP has demanded an apology and retraction, saying the commissioner has cast a slur on the gallant men who defeated terrorism.

Mr Blair's comments, that the new PSNI had changed the face of policing in the North entirely, caused the DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson to express shock and outrage at what he said was a disgraceful insult.

DUP Policing Board member Ian Paisley Jnr said the remarks were grossly offensive and utterly insulting.

Unless Mr Blair moves very quickly, Paisley said, he will be remembered for his unwarranted, cowardly and derogatory attack on gallant men and women who are held in high esteem.