Allister keeps up the pressure on Galactic Junior
22 September 2009
TUV Leader Jim Allister is keeping the pressure up on Ian Paisley Junior after his defiant attempt at justifying the secondment of PSNI officers to Libya. Mr Paisley suggested there was an intelligence gain for Northern Ireland in this venture, something which has raised eyebrows in several quarters. Mr Allister has now revealed that he has raised this aspect with the Home Secretary, asking him to confirm or deny Mr Paisley’s assertion.
In a statement Jim Allister said:-
“Unable to face up to the folly in which he was involved the galactic Ian Paisley Junior compounded his situation by indulging in nudge, nudge, wink, wink suggestions that in fact the PSNI officers he approved going to help Gaddafi were really on some sort of James Bond type spy mission. He told the BBC, “"In an adult world you don't have to be a genius to work out why it would be useful to have a senior officer, who has got intelligence skills, to look at Libya and to examine that country and to look at the facts that surround that country and to bring that information back to us."
“Frankly, I doubt very much if this is correct, but in order to clear the matter up I have written to the Home Secretary in the following terms:-
Dear Secretary of State,
You may be aware of the recent controversy in Northern Ireland about the posting of two PSNI officers to Libya to help train their police officers, under the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
I write to draw your attention to a specific aspect of this matter and to request your comments thereon. The then Chairman of the Human Resource Committee of the NI Policing Board in defending his approval of the secondments told the BBC on 18 September 2009: "In an adult world you don't have to be a genius to work out why it would be useful to have a senior officer, who has got intelligence skills, to look at Libya and to examine that country and to look at the facts that surround that country and to bring that information back to us."
Can you indicate if postings under the National Policing Improvement Agency involve any aspect of intelligence gathering for the police services back in the UK. If so, was such operative here?
Quite apart from the wisdom of any such comment as quoted above, I am concerned about the risk posed thereby to officers on foreign service if this perception is either true or allowed to gather credence. Hence, I believe it is important that you clearly state the position on these matters.
Yours sincerely,
“I really think Mr Paisley should stop digging and face the fact that he has again fallen foul of his chronic misjudgement tendency.”
