DUP in chaos
12 November 2009
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The statements from DUP representatives in relation to the Full Time Reserve in recent days indicate a party in complete disarray at the highest levels.
“On Monday morning Jeffrey Donaldson was saying that the FTR would have to be retained in order for Policing and Justice to be devolved “because not only will the DUP not agree to it but the public confidence will not be there to make it happen. That is absolutely clear”. In his words it categorically was a ‘deal-breaker’. By Monday afternoon he was wobbling. The Reserve no longer needed to be retained rather a way needed to be found to accommodate those Reservists who didn’t want to retire. No talk then of retaining the Full Time Reserve as an entity.
“Yesterday after his meeting with the Chief Constable Peter Robinson came out to announce that the retention of the Reserve was not a precondition and talked blandly about use of resources and there being opportunities in administration. In a space of hours the DUP had moved from retention of a free standing Reserve to ex reservists as office boys. Latest DUP policy: Terrorists in government, Reservists as tea-makers.
“This morning a discomforted Jeffrey Donaldson has stated that he “would not have the confidence that there would be sufficient resource within the PSNI to deal with the terrorist threat” if the FTR went.
“This is a significantly different message from the one sent out by Joint First Minister Robinson in a statement issued last night. He cites just “one requirement” for policing and justice powers to be transferred – the decidedly and deliberately woolly precondition of “community confidence”.
“So does the DUP require the FTR as an entity to be retained in order for policing and justice to be devolved or do they not? Let’s have a clear yes or no answer to this question, no more obfuscation or refuge in flexible language about ‘resources’.
“When Jeffrey Donaldson says the Reserve must stay does his party leader agree? And, what about the currently silent men, Nigel Dodds, Gregory Campbell, David Simpson and William McCrea? Where do they stand? Are they with Peter or Jeffrey, or somewhere else altogether?”
