The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman denied today that she had denigrated all Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in a devastating report into their Special Branch's handling of agents in a loyalist terror gang.
The Police Federation, which represents police officers, condemned Nuala O'Loan's report into the activities of an Ulster Volunteer Force gang in north Belfast.
Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan at the publication last January of her report on RUC collusion
The report, released in January, alleged that Special Branch officers colluded with informers who may have been responsible for up to 16 murders.
The Federation claimed the report was used to help Sinn Féin's move to endorse policing and accused Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain of also demonising the RUC to win Sinn Féin support for policing.
The organisation's trade magazine, Police Beat, queried the cost of the Ombudsman's office and criticised her investigation, questioning the lack of evidence.
Mrs O'Loan insisted today: "If you go to the report you will find I actually say that the activities I describe are in stark contrast to the good service of so many officers in the RUC.
"If you look at our website and the number of reports that we put out, we always put out evidence-based reports.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of evidence-based reports - most of which have actually found that policing was properly done.
"This one did not find policing having been done as it should have been and it was my duty to report the facts as the evidence showed them to be.
"I can't play with the evidence. I can't fabricate things. I can't do anything like that because that in itself would be collusion."
The Ombudsman also told BBC Radio Ulster the report was not timed to coincide with the build-up to Sinn Féin's special conference on policing.
She said its publication had been planned long before the date had been set for the Sinn Féin conference.
PA