The British Irish Ulster Forum

Wisdom of Devolution of Policing and Justice Brought into Question 7:00 pm, 3 March 2010 Committee Room 8, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Chair: Tony Grew Parliamentary Editor, ePolitix
Speakers: Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (UUP) Lord Dubs (Labour) Dr John Bew (Deputy Director, ICSR) The British Irish Ulster Forum held its second event at the Houses of Parliament on 3rd March 2010. The discussion was entitled ‘Policing the Peace: Safeguarding Security in Northern Ireland'. Dr John Bew, Deputy Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ISCR), provided a detailed analytical overview of the competing views of the main political parties, and highlighted the awkward position of the DUP, who continue to produce election literature condemning the UUP for the deals they negotiated on policing a decade ago while simultaneously demanding that the UUP support the deal struck by the DUP last month. Dr Bew also gave his analysis of possible explanations for the rise in dissident attacks.
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, a former officer in the Ulster Defence Regiment, painted a stark picture of the problems affecting policing and the justice system in Ulster. Lord Maginnis directed a fair proportion of his fire at Shaun Woodward, who he branded an "incompetent Secretary of State". Lord Maginnis argued that New Labour had "sacrificed the values of the Good Friday Agreement" and was now engaged in "blackmail and bribery", such as the threat that if the Assembly does not support devolution of policing and justice then the PSNI may not receive £800 million of necessary funding. Lord Dubs provided a competent defence of the British Government position. He accepted that the lack of involvement of the UUP and SDLP in recent talks was "politically unfortunate" but was optimistic about the likelihood of devolution happening and delighted by the progress of Northern Irish society in recent years. The speakers, and the open discussion within the Forum, were overseen by Tony Grew, Parliamentary Editor of ePolitix, who chaired proceedings with aplomb.