Claim police will return to court

Officers say there were not helped to deal with stress

Lawyers for police officers seeking compensation will return to court unless there are talks to resolve the issue, a solicitor has said.

The officers suffered a major setback in their claims after a High Court judge threw out 10 of the main cases.

Solicitor Dorcas Crawford, acting for most of the thousands of officers, said it was not the end of the legal road.

A judge said there had been "systematic failures" in the way officers with post traumatic stress disorder were treated.

This raised the hopes of 5,000 retired officers involved in the case.

They say they developed post-traumatic stress as a result of their experiences during the Troubles.

Support mechanisms

Terry Spence of the Police Federation said Tuesday's decison was disappointing.

However, he added: "This is not the time for further litigation. What we now want is to work with the chief constable and the NIO to move this forward for the betterment of our members."

Those involved in the overall case claimed they were not prepared for what they experienced and that adequate support mechanisms were not in place.

Last Friday, Mr Justice Coughlin ruled that the PSNI and RUC were liable from 1986 onwards.

Speaking following Tuesday's hearing, Ms Crawford said: "These people were never suing for actually being exposed to trauma.

"What they were always suing for was the fact that the chief constable and the government did not protect them from the effects of that trauma.

"That is where the court found that the chief constable was wanting. He didn't educate them enough to get treatment and he had a duty to treat them when they did become ill."

In a statement, the PSNI said it was not about winning or losing.

"However, we would take issue with the suggestion that it is 'shameful' for the chief constable to defend a legal action in the courts.

"It is not correct to state that the judge found the current chief constable 'did wrong' or that he was 'negligent in several areas'."