Flanagan to delay departure

Policing Board had a tough decision to make

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan has accepted an invitation to remain in the post until the end of March.

He was asked to stay on by the 19-member Policing Board on Thursday afternoon, following a casting vote by its chairman Professor Des Rea.

Sir Ronnie, who has overseen the start of sweeping changes to Northern Ireland's police service, had announced his intention to retire.

Although his retirement notice runs out next Thursday, 28 February, he had expected to be in the post for another few months until a successor was appointed.

The Policing Board was split nine to nine on the issue, but decided by a majority vote to ask Sir Ronnie to extend his tenure.

Maximise

Sir Ronnie said he believed the decision was in the "best interest of the Police Service of Northern Ireland at this time".

He said he was "prepared to postpone his planned retirement for one month".

Sir Ronnie Flanagan has tendered his resignation

In a statement, Sir Ronnie also said he would "maximise every moment of this period with his fellow chief officers to ensure that the organisation is best positioned to continue to provide the highest quality of service."

Sir Ronnie's deputy Colin Cramphorn has been asked to act up until a new chief constable is chosen, probably in June.

The Policing Board's Corporate Policy Committee, which is responsible for senior police appointments, met earlier on Thursday to consider what recommendations to make to the board.

The committee includes Mr Rea, the board's vice chairman Denis Bradley, a member of each of the political parties represented and three of the board's non-political members.

'Seamless'

After the decision was taken, Alex Attwood of the nationalist SDLP described Sir Ronnie as a "lame duck" chief constable.

"The policing board has laid down severe conditions as to what he can and cannot do," he said.

Unionist representatives on the board said the decision would minimise disruption while they looked for a new chief constable.

Ian Paisley junior, a Democratic Unionist representative, said: "This will allow a smooth and seamless transition of power.

"It's a vote of confidence and people should accept majority rule in this instance."

Some Policing Board members favoured Colin Cramphorn as acting chief

Colin Cramphorn, aged 45, was appointed deputy chief constable in Northern Ireland in September 1998.

Recently he was short listed for four chief constable posts - Thames Valley, Sussex, Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders.

Next month he will be interviewed for a job in Greater Manchester, which does not become vacant until September.

However, the first phase of the changes to policing since the November changeover from the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, is not yet complete.

The first trainees recruited on a 50:50 Catholic-Protestant basis to the Police Service of Northern Ireland do not complete their training until 5 April.

Period of change

And that is the day the new service's uniform and badge are to be introduced.

On Tuesday, the Home Office announced that Sir Ronnie was to become one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary.

However, the last few months have been a very difficult period for Sir Ronnie in the chief constable's post following the publication of a critical report by Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan on the force's handling of the Omagh bombing investigation.

Mrs O'Loan criticised Sir Ronnie's judgement over the investigation and a public row between the two offices developed after the chief constable dismissed the report as "inaccurate" and "flawed".

The Policing Board intervened in the dispute last month, recommending that an officer from a force from outside Northern Ireland should be brought in to oversee the Omagh inquiry, in what was seen as an attempt to broker a compromise.