PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde today denied claiming the Bloody Sunday tribunal was a waste of money.
He told relatives of some of the 13 people shot dead in Derry that remarks last month about the January 1972 shootings were intended to trigger a debate about the pressure officers in his under-resourced force would face if they had to investigate unresolved murders stretching back more than 30 years.
Afterwards Mr Orde insisted: "I made it clear that I never said (the Saville Inquiry) was a waste of money."
Lord Saville's investigation, currently sitting in London, is expected to cost an estimated £155 million sterling. Hearings are due to return to Derry later this year and it will be mid-2004 at the earliest before his report is ready.
Relatives of some of the victims criticised Mr Orde for his remarks to the Financial Times, when he claimed the tribunal was unlikely to satisfy the families or any of the other groups involved.
He was quoted as saying: "Apart from making lawyers millionaires, will it satisfy the families? I don't think so."
After his meeting today, which he described as "positive and dignified", the Chief Constable said he understood the families' feeling of hurt.
"It was never my intention to cause personal upset. With something like 2,700 murders unresolved, it was an attempt to try and start a discussion on how we can bring about some sort of closure of events of the past and at the same time satisfy families and relatives," he said. "I think the families understood that today and they gave me a very fair hearing."
Relatives of the victims said they had accepted the Chief Constable's explanation.Ms Kay Duddy, whose brother Jackie (17) was among those killed, described the meeting as "dignified and to the point", with Mr Orde stressing he was prepared to talk with other relatives who refused to attend at any time in the future.