Statement by TUV leader and North Antrim MP Jim Allister:
“I have written to the Justice Minister urging her to act decisively in relation to the Police Ombudsman, who is now the subject of a file submitted to the Public Prosecution Service.
“It is wholly inappropriate and frankly farcical that the Ombudsman should continue to sit in judgment over police officers while she herself is under the shadow of possible prosecution. The very idea that she can continue to make determinations about others, while facing such serious scrutiny herself, undermines public confidence in the integrity of the office she holds.
“The Justice Minister cannot sit idly by. She has a duty to act — and I believe that means the Ombudsman must be suspended immediately pending the outcome of the PPS’s deliberations.
“If the Ombudsman does not do the decent thing and step aside voluntarily, then steps must be taken to ensure she is stood down. The public will rightly ask: if the First and deputy First Ministers can jointly recommend her for appointment, can they not now jointly act to suspend her? Why haven’t they?
“There is a growing sense of disbelief that someone at the head of an accountability body can continue to operate as normal in such circumstances. This cannot be allowed to continue.“