The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, has again insisted that no one joining the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) could be deemed a nationalist.
He also denied a claim by Policing Board vice-chairman Mr Denis Bradley that nationalists were being subjected to "intimidation", although not of the physical kind, from republicans who insisted they should not apply to join the PSNI.
Mr Adams said such claims were unsubstantiated. "There is no intimidation."
The first batch of new recruits will graduate early next month, half of them of Catholic background. In the two recruitment drives so far, more than 4,000 Catholics have applied to join the PSNI. A third recruitment campaign is now under way.
Mr Adams stated however, "There are no nationalists - there may be post-nationalists - but there are no nationalists or republicans involved in this policing service. The question of whether Catholics are involved or not is irrelevant. Catholics were always involved, from the RIC through to the RUC."
Asked were his remarks not patronising because he could not know the individual politics of the PSNI recruits, Mr Adams replied, "There are no nationalists or republicans involved in a police service which has a union flag flying above it, and which has all the little and big links back to the British government. That's for certain."
Mr Adams was also dismissive of Mr Bradley's prediction that Sinn Féin would join the Policing Board within six months.
Mr Bradley further claimed on the BBC that the inquiry into the break-in at the Special Branch office in Castlereagh announced by Northern Secretary Dr John Reid was merely a case of the British "government looking after its own needs and its own internal difficulties".
He also said yesterday that the appointment of senior British civil servant, Mr John Chilcott, to lead the inquiry was dubious because of his links to MI5. The appointment of Sir John, Mr Bradley added, "does not help public confidence in a truly independent inquiry into this affair".
Mr Adams agreed that the Castlereagh inquiry was inadequate but that this was partly because the Policing Board itself was ineffective. He said Sinn Féin was prepared to join the Policing Board, but only when it was granted certain powers, such as holding the police fully accountable for its actions.
He said he had an "open mind" on whether he would address the US Congressional Committee examining the alleged links between the IRA and FARC guerrillas in Colombia. He had yet to receive his letter of invitation. He said that when he and Mr Martin McGuinness meet the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in London on Monday he would raise such issues as policing, loyalist violence, allegations of security force collusion with loyalists, and the Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson cases.
The issue of an amnesty for republican fugitives on the run is also certain to be high on the agenda. Mr Adams said he was aware of the speculation surrounding the possibility of an imminent second IRA act of decommissioning but he had no intention of adding to that speculation.
With other Sinn Féin figures and candidates Mr Adams is to attend a party general election conference cum rally in Dublin today.