North's Police Ombudsman expected announce plans to quit today

The North's crisis-hit Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson is today expected to announce plans to leave the job when he faces politicians at Stormont.

He is under pressure after the latest in a series of damning reports said he had lost the trust of senior colleagues and that his watchdog organisation was divided and dysfunctional.

The hard-hitting review by the Criminal Justice Inspection group said ombudsman reports into some of the most controversial murders of the Troubles had seen criticism of the police removed.

Victims groups have demanded the resignation of the former Canadian police commander who is set to face a grilling from the Assembly's Justice Committee.

But his political critics have reacted angrily to claims he may seek to stay on for a period of months to try to reform his office, which is seen as a key building block in the North's new policing structures.

The former Mountie is expected to tell the Stormont scrutiny committee that he will leave the top job ahead of his expected retirement date of December 2012.

But Sinn Féin said anything short of an immediate departure would jeopardise efforts to salvage the image of his office.

The latest damaging review of his stewardship, compiled by Chief Inspector Michael Maguire, said: "Our overall conclusion is that the flawed nature of the investigation process in historic cases, the divisions within senior management, and concerns around the handling of sensitive material have undermined confidence in the work of the OPONI (Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland) among some staff and key stakeholders.

"These issues have led to a lowering of the operational independence of the OPONI. It is an urgent requirement that these issues are addressed in response to this report."

The probe found:

* Reports into atrocities from the Troubles, including the loyalist paramilitary bombing of McGurk's bar in 1971 which killed 15 people, were redrafted with criticisms of the police removed.

* One member of staff said he believed there was an agreement for the office to remove criticism of RUC Special Branch in its reports.

* Concerns that intelligence information was not being properly presented to ombudsman staff.

* Assurances given by the ombudsman over the provision and analysis of sensitive material were "not believed" by some senior managers.

* It found "there have been serious divisions amongst senior management" affecting its work and staff morale.

* There was a "lowering of independence" in the ombudsman's office.

* Senior ombudsman officials asked to be disassociated from investigation reports.

But Mr Hutchinson welcomed the report's conclusion that he had largely succeeded in handling current police complaints.

On cases from the Troubles, Mr Hutchinson said of the findings: "I have now moved to address those areas of concern identified by the inspectorate in relation to the historical work undertaken by my office.

"I also particularly welcome the fact that the report places a spotlight on the larger issue of how society should deal with wider unresolved legacy issues arising from the Troubles."