The Northern Ireland Police Authority has warned that it will strongly oppose any moves to interfere with the independence of the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan. It had earlier expressed concern that a new commission on policing might be "nothing more than a political expedient".
The commission will be set up if the Belfast Agreement is approved in next month's referendum. The proposed chairman is the former Hong Kong governor, Mr Chris Patten. The chairman of the Police Authority, Mr Pat Armstrong, said the RUC was prepared to embrace change but insisted the force must remain free of political interference.
Welcoming Mr Patten's appointment, he said the authority would co-operate with the commission. "Notwithstanding our reservations about motive, the Police Authority intends to fully participate in the deliberations of the commission."
Paying tribute to the courage of RUC officers, he said it would be extraordinary if they were to be "abandoned in the peace they had sacrificed so much to create. Northern Ireland represents an extraordinary policing challenge which has placed extraordinary demands upon the men and women of the RUC to which they have responded with remarkable courage and professionalism."
The Independent Commission for Police Complaints yesterday published its annual report which showed that, out of 3,111 complaints made to the RUC last year, seven cases involving nine officers resulted in formal police hearings.
One officer was found guilty, although the disciplinary action taken by the RUC has not been made public. Another officer resigned before a case was heard. The commission says it is closely monitoring complaints of alleged misconduct against members of the Mobile Support Unit, the RUC's main riot control squad.