RUC Bill changes unveiled

The RUC's name and uniform will be changed under the new bill

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson has announced a series of concessions to the government's bill to reform the RUC in an attempt to persuade the nationalist community to back the plans.

Promising "a new beginning for policing" in Northern Ireland, he strengthened the powers of the new policing board and said he had "an open mind" about further changes to the bill.

Both sides of the community in Northern Ireland have their concerns about the bill - unionists think it goes too far, and nationalists that it does not go far enough.

MPs from all sides of the house have tabled amendments to the bill, with a group of Labour backbenchers sympathetic to the nationalist cause tabling a clause outlining their total opposition to it.

Mr Mandelson said the concessions would ensure that all police officers - current as well as future recruits - signed up to a new code of ethics.

Emotional voices in the unionist community are wrapping their arms around the police...as if they were Siamese twins

Brian Mawhinney MP

They would also put the powers and responsibilities of the newly appointed independent commissioner, who will oversee the reforms of the RUC, onto a statutory level.

In order to bring more nationalists in to the force, the concessions also extend the operation of quotas for the recruitment of Catholics.

RUC renamed?

One of the most bitter controversies over the bill is the provision it makes for renaming the RUC.

If it is passed, there would be no statutory permanent name for the police in Northern Ireland - the power to name the force would rest with the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State would also be able to rule on whether the Union Flag should fly from police buildings.

Nationalists have complained that the government's legislation has watered down the Patten report's original proposals.

In the Commons, Deputy First Minister and SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon stressed the importance of implementing the key recommendations that Mr Patten made.

We profoundly disagree with the assertion that the police service should be entirely free of any association with the symbols of the state

Andrew Mackay MP

"If we get this (Bill) right - it means for me, I'll go into the hardest parts of Northern Ireland and I'll ask people to join the police service and support it. But we must get it right," he urged.

Tory concerns

But Shadow Northern Ireland Spokesman Andrew Mackay told MPs that the Tories remain "implacably opposed" to scrapping the name of the RUC.

He suggested that the old name continue to stand alongside the new name - the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

"It's cumbersome, it's boring, it's almost pedantic but I do think it is the best way forward to actually bring people together on this issue," he said.

He also said that plans to scrap the cap badge in an attempt to rid the force of any symbols of state were misguided.

Ken Maginnis of the Ulster Unionist agreed, telling the House that the Patten report had "shown no awareness of the needs and sacrifices of the RUC."

But senior Ulster-born Tory MP Brian Mahwhinney urged Peter Mandelson not to be "overly influenced by some of the unionist community" in his attempts to depoliticise policing.

He said Unionists were too inclined to attach themselves to the RUC "as if they were in perpetuity Siamese twins".

The Bill will also create a new Northern Ireland Policing Board to replace the Police Authority for Northern Ireland;

In order to encourage applicants from the force from all sides of the community, the bill also creates a new declaration for recruits and a code of ethics for police officers.

Under the Bill, the interests and associations of police officers would be registered.