McAleese-Orde meeting 'political'

Irish President Mary McAleese is to meet Sir Hugh Orde

The DUP has criticised Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde's decision to meet Irish President Mary McAleese at police headquarters in Belfast.

Ian Paisley Jr said Thursday's meeting, which was not raised with the Policing Board, was "highly political".

Mr Paisley said the chief constable had no operational requirement to report to Mrs McAleese, who is from Belfast.

He said the meeting was "choreographed to help the IRA at a time when their statement has fallen on deaf ears".

Mr Paisley added: "All sense of protocol has been abandoned and all to assist a visit by someone who has done her best to insult the majority of people here by likening them to Nazis.

"The chief constable ought to explain why he is meeting the Dublin president. For what purpose is he meeting the head of a foreign state?

"Is the security minister accompanying him?"

A PSNI spokesperson said they would not be responding to Mr Paisley's comments.

The spokesperson confirmed that President McAleese would meet Sir Hugh Orde and other members of the PSNI "during a courtesy visit".

'Controversy'

The meeting comes on the day that Ms McAleese is due to visit the loyalist Shankill area of west Belfast.

She cancelled plans to visit the area, including a trip to Edenbrooke Primary School last year, after some of her comments caused controversy.

Ms McAleese sparked outrage after saying children in Northern Ireland were taught to hate Catholics in the same way Nazis taught theirs to despise Jews.

She made the comments before attending ceremonies marking 60 years since Auschwitz was liberated.

She later said she was "deeply sorry" for the offence her remarks caused, but some unionists were not mollified.

Inaugurated as the Irish head of state in 1997, Mary McAleese is the first president to come from Northern Ireland and is now in her second term of office.