Taylor of UUP accuses British of RUC betrayal

By Anne Cadwallader

BELFAST — The deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, John Taylor, claims the British government has "betrayed" the unionist people over the name of the new Northern Ireland police force.

Taylor said an amendment put before the House of Commons on Monday "contradicts assurances" given to him in writing by the British government in May before he decided to back his party leader, David Trimble, at the Ulster Unionist Council meeting that narrowly voted to take part in a new power-sharing government with Sinn Fein.

A government amendment confirms the Royal Ulster Constabulary name would be dropped for all "operational purposes" and went on to define these as "all working, public, legal, ceremonial, administrative, presentational and recruitment purposes." This would effectively bar any formal mention of the RUC.

British government sources said this had always been the intention.

"We had to define clearly what operational purposes meant for legal reasons," said one source. "The Northern secretary, Peter Mandelson said it when he presented the bill, and we made it clear again last week."

Taylor said it had been tough for him and his party leader, Trimble, to win support from the Ulster Unionist Council. A crucial element, he said, had been an assurance that the name of the RUC would be preserved within the "title deeds" of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland.

He said he was surprised when he heard of the amendment and added that the name of the RUC should have been settled during the Police Bill’s committee stage at Westminster.

"Regrettably, at the last minute," Taylor said, "the government slipped in a further amendment relating to the name of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, without any consultation with the unionists and it looks as if they are trying to dishonor previous agreements.

"The effect is in practice to, first of all, betray the unionist community in the understandings that had been negotiated and, secondly, to undermine decisions already taken at Westminster in committee about the name of the police service."

Also at Stormont this week, the DUP’s two ministers in the Executive — regional development minister, Peter Robinson, and social affairs minister, Nigel Dodds –tendered their resignations, to take effect at the end of July. The DUP leader, the Rev. Ian Paisley, indicated that they would be succeeded by Gregory Campbell and Maurice Morrow in a disruptive tactic of rotating the posts among DUP assembly colleagues.

Paisley has claimed Trimble’s support is "seeping away day by day," as evidenced by the fact that 55 percent of all unionist parties in the Assembly backed the Sinn Féin exclusion motion. Paisley pledged to win the battle by burying the Belfast Agreement.

"We’re going down this road," he said. "The gloves are off. We’re taking no more nonsense from anybody. They drew up an agreement designed to give nationalists as much power as they could.

"We’ve taken the sword that was designed to kill unionism and we will use it to kill the agreement. I have been slaughtered, killed and buried and I have always risen again. The truth shall prevail and we will see, at last, democracy."

Trimble criticized the DUP’s move. "The only conclusion that can be drawn from this unfortunate policy is that the DUP is using these important ministerial offices for its own narrow political purposes."

In a joint statement from Trimble and Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, the men said they continued to be "astonished" at the antics of the DUP ministers. "How anyone can believe that rotating ministers regularly will not harm the delivery of public services is a mystery?"

The statement claimed that policy was an "abuse" of the public interest and a breach of the good faith which the two ministers pledged on taking up office.