Sir Ronnie Flanagan's successor as head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was last night named as Mr Hugh Orde, the current deputy assistant commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police and Operational Head of the Stevens Inquiry.
Mr Orde (43) is taking over a force some of whose members he is investigating for alleged collusion into a number of controversial killings including that of Belfast solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane.
The interview board deliberated for five hours before taking its decision in favour of Mr Orde. The two unionist members on the eight-member selection committee of the policing board which chose Mr Orde dissented from the decision. The unionist politicians, Mr Sammy Wilson of the DUP, and Mr Fred Cobain of the Ulster Unionist Party did not attend last night's press conference announc- ing Mr Orde's appointment.
The announcement also caused surprise as the initial favourite for the post was Mr Alan McQuillan, acting chief constable of the PSNI for the Greater Belfast area. Mr Orde also saw off the challenge of the only other candidate, Mr Chris Albiston, also acting chief constable of the PSNI.
Mr Orde has the day-to-day running of the Stevens Inquiry which is focusing on the 1989 murder of Mr Finucane and other disputed killings in which it is alleged there was security force collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. The Stevens Inquiry, which is named after the head of the Metropolitan police, Sir John Stevens, is due to be published in the next six weeks.
Sources have stated that the report will be extremely critical of the RUC, a fact which Mr Orde appeared to confirm last night when he said the report would be "frank and honest" and would "not pull any punches".
Mr Orde's appointment could cause some internal PSNI problems as he will now be in the unique position of implementing the recommendations of a report for which he was chiefly responsible. He seemed satisfied, however, that he would be able to win the support and confidence of the PSNI. "I am absolutely delighted to have been given this opportunity to serve the community in Northern Ireland to lead the PSNI in this new era for policing," he said.
Mr Orde pledged his tenure as PSNI Chief Constable would be as "open and transparent as possible"."Those are the morals I have always operated by and I will not change them now," he added.
Mr Orde said he would reside in Northern Ireland. It could be some weeks or even months before he moves into PSNI headquarters in Belfast as he must first take some time to clear his desk at the London Metropolitan police.
The eight-member selection committee was comprised of Unionist, SDLP and Independent members. "This was a very tough decision," a member of the interview panel said.
The chairman of the Policing Board, Prof Desmond Rea, expressed confidence in Mr Orde and promised him the support of the Policing Board.
