SDLP justice post motion defeated

The full time reserve is to be phased out in 2011

An SDLP motion to have the justice minister elected through the D'Hondt system has been defeated in an assembly debate on policing and justice powers.

MLAs discussed the legislation, which will provide the legal framework for the devolution of policing and justice, for almost 10 hours on Tuesday night.

However, the bill does not dictate when the powers will be transferred.

Another SDLP amendment which called for powers to be transferred by 7 December was also defeated.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sinn Fein Junior Minister Gerry Kelly said he wanted the DUP to spell out their conditions for the devolution of policing and justice.

Mr Kelly accused the DUP of attempting to turn the clock back by periodically reintroducing new demands.

DUP leader Peter Robinson has said the Parades Commission should be abolished before the transfer of power.

And at the beginning of the week, his party colleague Jeffrey Donaldson said devolution should only happen if the PSNI reserve is retained.

"Turn the clock back"

However on Tuesday the Chief Constable reiterated his view that there is no operational need to keep the remaining reserve officers.

Matt Baggott said the reserve should be phased out by 2011, in accordance with the recommendations of the Patton report.

Baggott on PSNI reserve

Mr Kelly said the DUP needed to "stop looking back over its shoulder".

"We have to put this in the context of Arlene Foster, a DUP minister, saying that none of these issues are an obstacle to the transfer of policing and justice," he said.

"We then have Peter Robinson saying that the parades issue is an obstacle and a precondition to it. Then yesterday we have a high profile DUP member Jeffrey Donaldson saying this.

"The full-time reserve is an extra demand which is trying to turn back a clock that is not going to be turned back."

The Police Federation, which is effectively the union for PSNI officers, said on Monday that the majority of officers in the full-time reserve wanted to remain in post.