Government defends police recruitment

New recruits could be on the street by next spring

The Northern Ireland Office has rejected a Sinn Fein claim that recruitment to the new police service, which begins at the end of this week, is illegal.

The statement came as Prime Minister Tony Blair met leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party and SDLP in Downing Street in an attempt to break the political deadlock.

Policing, IRA decommissioning, and demilitarisation are the issues causing a stumbling block, and threatening to topple the power-sharing executive.

On Wednesday morning, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness said he believed the police recruitment campaign was outside the Police (NI) Act.

And he called on Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid to make an urgent statement on the issue.

"There is a responsibility on the British secretary of state to consult with the Policing Board, which hasn't yet been established, with the Equality Commission and other groupings," he said.

"There is no doubt, whatsoever, that if the chief constable of the RUC moves down this road, he is acting illegally and he is acting outside the terms of the policing act."

However, a spokeswoman for the Northern Ireland Office said they were confident the advertisements were in line with that act and were lawful.

Recruitment to the new Police Service of Northern Ireland gets under way on Friday with the first of the television advertisements.

These will be followed by newspaper advertisements over the weekend.

It is not thought there will be mention of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the advertisements, which will carry salary details and telephone numbers on both sides of the border, if people need further information.

David Trimble: "Decision time"

Meanwhile the secretary of state has said all sides in the peace process will have to "stretch their constituency" to make a deal.

Speaking to business leaders in Dublin, Dr Reid said some "genuine progress" had been made during the recent round of intensive discussions.

Earlier, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said it was "decision time for nationalists and republicans" over the future of the political process.

Speaking after his talks with Mr Blair, the first minister also said he wanted to see an end to the "carping" over the new police service.

SDLP leader John Hume said, after leaving Downing Street, that a "new format was needed to try to resolve outstanding issues".

He called for a round-table meeting of the pro-agreement parties to try to resolve the current problems.

However, the DUP assembly member Nigel Dodds said further talks, particularly on the policing issue, were pointless.

About 500 police officers are expected to quit the RUC next month as part of the severance arrangements negotiated after the Patten report on the future of policing in Northern Ireland.

Financial provisions are in place for a further 750 officers to leave over the next 12 months.

A beginning to recruitment would see the new officers on the streets by next spring.

It is expected that Protestants and Catholics would be recruited on a 50/50 basis.

Protestants currently make up 92% of the RUC.

The SDLP and Sinn Fein say there is still a "gap" between what was proposed in the Patten report and what the British Government has put forward and have so far refused to put forward nominees to the new Police Board.

Their concerns include:

plans for the phasing out of the full-time reserve

future of the RUC Special Branch

name of the new service

police badge

flags over police stations

independent inquiries into controversial killings.