It now seems certain the specific demands of the SDLP and Sinn Fein on title, symbols and flags of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland will not be satisfied by the final draft of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill, scheduled to become law next month.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, will today table amendments to the Bill for consideration during next week's Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
The proposed amendments are understood to be "primarily clarifications" of matters raised during the earlier stages of the Bill in the House of Commons.
Specifically, The Irish Times understands Mr Mandelson is not planning to bring forward an amendment - as demanded by Mr Seamus Mallon, the Deputy First Minister and deputy leader of the SDLP - defining the precise "operational purposes" of the new "Police Service of Northern Ireland" title. It was Mr Mandelson's withdrawal of such an amendment during the third reading debate on the Bill on July 11th which triggered Mr Mallon's charge of "political chicanery" and the subsequent standoff between the Secretary of State and the SDLP.
It seems clear Mr Mandelson believes he has struck the right political balance between unionist and nationalist concerns over the Bill. And in a conscious decision not to inflame an already volatile situation in Northern Ireland, it is understood Mr Mandelson is standing by his original decision to defer the question of symbols and flags to be associated with the new service for decision by the new policing board.
Mr Mandelson's determination to hold the present line will be seen as an attempt to ease the pressure on the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, ahead of a crucial meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council on Saturday week, October 28th. At the same time, sources in both capitals have confirmed there will be no new concessions to Mr Trimble, and that Mr Mandelson will reinstate provisions for 50/50 Catholic/ Protestant recruitment to the new service if it is defeated in the Lords.
The latest moves have prompted speculation that Mr Mallon might not now come to a final view about the new policing dispensation at the end of the legislative process next month. Furthermore, the SDLP might postpone a decision on whether to take its places on the new policing board pending the fulfilment of the "implementation plan" and any promised review of the new arrangements.