The prospect of convicted paramilitaries serving as community police officers in the North was dismissed today by Northern Secretary Peter Hain.
As unionists and nationalist politicians raised concerns about reports that former IRA and loyalist prisoners could become community police officers as a result of negotiations, Mr Hain moved to dampen the speculation.
"There is absolutely no question of a bomber one day becoming a community support officer the next," he said ahead of talks with the SDLP.
"There is no question of that at all.
"Community support officers in Great Britain have played an enormously constructive role and that's why we are rolling them out by the thousands.
"I think they can play a very constructive role in Northern Ireland communities, with genuine community policing with all the citizens and residents of their communities seeing the representatives of law and order on their streets in and around their neighbourhood all of the time.
"That is what has worked very successfully in Great Britain and I think it can work here but you've got to have people with integrity who are committed to maintaining the law."
Last Thursday Northern Ireland's most senior policeman, Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde laid down a marker on the issue, insisting he would oppose anyone with a criminal conviction serving in the police.
The chairman of the North's Policing Board, Professor Desmond Rea, also expressed unease among some of his colleagues at suggestions that ex-paramilitaries could have their records wiped clean and be allowed to serve as community officers.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said ahead of today's meeting with Mr Hain the British government would be well advised not to do anything which would undermine the vision for policing set out in a report by former EU commissioner Chris Patten.
Noting the Patten Report had opposed any ex-paramilitary becoming a community officer, the Foyle MP warned that it would set a very dangerous precedent to go against what was originally envisaged by the police reform commission.
PA