Police reform - Get peace process back on track

CONFIRMATION that Britain plans to press ahead with reform of the North’s police service is heartening. Flagged in the Queen’s speech at the opening of parliament at Westminster yesterday, the initiative is calculated to win Sinn Féin support for the service and to bring the IRA in from the cold.

A radical overhaul of the police remains a crucial element of the Good Friday Agreement and a major plank of the on-going search for peace.

It is incumbent on the British and Irish governments to intensify efforts to revive the North’s stalled political process by engaging in multi-party talks with pro-agreement groups.