THE Chief Constable of Kent, Mr David Phillips, and the FBI, called in to oversee the investigation of the murder of the Lurgan solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson, have confirmed that the RUC will conduct the investigation with officers from their ranks providing oversight.
In a joint statement yesterday, the overseeing forces defined their role as one of providing independent and professional scrutiny to the investigation, which would be carried out by RUC officers.
"Bearing in mind that critical to any prospect of success is the application of local knowledge and intelligence, it is the clear professional judgment of the Chief Constable of Kent and the FBI representative that the best chance of detecting those responsible lies in the RUC conducting the investigation."
Two detectives from Kent will combine with a senior FBI agent and more FBI specialists to oversee the case in the early stages.
The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, said yesterday the officers would not be constrained.
The chairman of the Police Authority, Mr Pat Armstrong, welcomed the joint statement from Mr Phillips and the FBI and said it was now time to focus on the investigation of Ms Nelson's murder.
The SDLP Assembly member for Upper Bann, Ms Brid Rodgers, said she was "appalled" by what she referred to as a declaration of confidence in the appropriateness of the RUC investigating Ms Nelson's murder.
"One has to ask how such a statement could be made on the same day as the Independent Commission Police Complaints reports on the fact that it doubted the RUC's handling of Rosemary Nelson's allegations of police harassment to the extent that it referred the claims to the Metropolitan Police for investigation."
The Sinn Fein spokeswoman on policing, Ms Bairbre de Brun, rejected the rationale put forward by the Kent Chief Constable and the FBI for the involvement of the RUC in the investigation.
Police in Armagh yesterday uncovered 24 petrol bombs in a search off Dalton Road, and three 15-gallon drums of petrol off Nursery Road on the city outskirts.