Orde holds talks with Sinn Fein

The leader of Sinn Fein has been meeting the PSNI chief

A Sinn Fein delegation led by party president Gerry Adams has met the head of Northern Ireland's police.

The Stormont meeting with Sir Hugh Orde came as republicans face growing pressure to support the police as part of the deal to restore devolution.

Mr Adams described the meeting as "good" but said he could not yet call a special convention on policing.

The chief constable also said the meeting "had been good" and described the conversation as "testing".

Although Sir Hugh said he has had a number of meetings with Sinn Fein representatives, this was his first formal encounter with Mr Adams since the two men met inside Downing Street two years ago.

Mr Adams said he would have called a meeting of the Sinn Fein ard comhairle (party executive) to discuss the policing issue "long ago, had I the basis to do so".

"We need to resolve the whole matter of the transfer of powers on policing and justice in a do-able, definitive timeframe to achieve that," he said.

"We need to get the MI5 security service out of policing. We need to deal with all these other issues which we dealt with at this morning's meeting."

The meeting took place at Stormont

MI5 is due to take over the lead role in intelligence involving national security in Northern Ireland by the end of 2007.

Sir Hugh said they had discussed routine policing and how the past had affected current policing.

"I think it was a testing conversation and I think that is a good thing," he said.

"I don't want nice conversations. I want to be pushed. I need to push my organisation.

"We have a job to do, which is to convince all communities that we are capable of protecting them and these conversations help that."

Mr Adams was accompanied at the meeting by assembly members Gerry Kelly and Caitriona Ruane and fellow MP Michelle Gildernew.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the chief constable had always indicated he was prepared to talk to anyone willing or able to make a positive contribution to policing.

Sinn Fein is facing demands from other political parties in Northern Ireland as well as the British, Irish and US governments to fully endorse the PSNI.

The DUP has insisted without such a move from Gerry Adams' party there will be no power sharing at Stormont next March.